Pretending to Fake True Love
by The Midnight Vale
Summary: Jade West has always put up an unshakeable front to the world, but her walls are about to come crashing down. Jadelyn August West is pregnant. Lucky for her, she can always count on Tori Vega to pick her up when she's down... Jori. G!p.
1. Pregnant

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious! If I did, Tori and Jade would have been together from day one!**

 **Pretending To Fake True Love**

 **Summary:** Jade West has always put up an unshakeable front to the world, but her walls are about to come crashing down. Jadelyn August West is pregnant. Lucky for her, she can always count on Tori Vega to pick her up when she's down…

 **Chapter One: Pregnant**

 **February 11-12, 2017 - Six Weeks Pregnant**

Jade sat tensely on the edge of her bathtub. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt almost like she may actually break out into sweat, which on a typical day would be enough in and of itself to make her shudder. But it wasn't a typical day, because no typical day included Jade West waiting nervously for the timer on her phone to beep so that she could check the results of her home pregnancy test.

She felt sick to her stomach, and she wasn't entirely sure if it was her nerves or the dreaded, infamous morning sickness. Just the thought of the latter made her nauseous.

Finally, her phone beeped to tell her that it was time, but her heart clenched painfully in her chest and she knew. She didn't even have to look before she knew, but she looked anyway, hoping against hope that she was wrong for once in her life.

A single, clearly displayed word stared back at her. _Pregnant._

She'd known. She'd known ever since she woke up early in the morning yesterday and rushed to the bathroom for the third time in as many days. She'd known the moment she realized that she wasn't likely to get her period when it was already a full two weeks late.

And yet, she was stunned, more shocked than she'd ever been before. She almost felt completely and totally rooted to the spot, but her legs managed to move and her fingers wrapped themselves around her car keys as her feet carried out of the house and into her car, where it waited under cover of night. The entire time, her mind was blank as she felt her entire life, the entire future that she'd chosen, slipping away from her.

Twenty minutes later, she found herself climbing out of the car and knocking on a familiar door to a familiar house containing the one person that she knew she could count on to somehow make this fucked up situation resemble something close to "okay." Her fist pounded on the door for mere moments before it swung open to reveal Jade's fail-safe, her last and most trusted resort.

Tori Vega stood there in black silk pajama pants and a navy blue sports bra, clearly so disoriented that she didn't even realize that she'd just essentially opened the door to what could be a complete stranger without a shirt on. Her hair was tousled from sleep and her brown eyes were half-closed, but she instantly became more alert when she saw Jade standing there.

Jade could see the flash of concern that appeared in Tori's eyes, and it was only then that she became aware of the tears building in her own eyes. "Tori," she tried to say, and her voice broke. Her shoulders shook with the sobs that she was fighting to contain, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to hold them in for long.

Immediately, Tori snapped into action. "Come inside, Jade," she said gently, reaching out to pull the other girl into her arms. She didn't know what had Jade so upset, but it must be a very big deal for her to be so shaken up that she couldn't speak. She quickly pulled the Goth over to the couch where she sat down and Jade collapsed next to her, the two of them still holding their embrace.

Jade sobbed into Tori's arms, simply letting all of her emotions overflow after keeping them bottled up inside for the past day. She didn't feel quite so shocked now that she was with the tanned songstress, and it was beginning to really sink in that she was carrying a baby inside of her, a little person that she was going to have to give birth to in approximately eight months' time.

Eventually, her sobs lessened to quiet cries before even those finally halted. When that happened, she pulled away from Tori enough that she could look her in the eyes, as she attempted to dry her eyes and face a bit.

Tori looked at her friend in concern. "Jade… I'm here to listen if you want to tell me what's wrong," she offered, before adding, "but please don't feel like you have to say anything. If you like, you can just stay here tonight and it can be our little secret, or yours rather. I don't have to know a thing," she promised, and Jade managed a small chuckle.

"Thanks, Vega, but this is something that I kind of need to tell you, since you're going to find out soon enough anyway," she muttered regretfully, reaching up to shakily run a hand through her hair. "Tori… I'm pregnant with Beck's baby," Jade said tensely, and Tori froze.

 _Jade West is pregnant with Beck Oliver's baby… Jade West is going to be a mother…_

The young half-Latina swallowed deeply before shaking herself out of her stupor. She cleared her throat. "Does he know?" she asked quietly, gently holding Jade's hand in her own.

"No, and if I had my way he wouldn't know!" Jade spat, though she wasn't angry at Tori. "He's not himself anymore. All he ever does is drink, and I don't want him around me or my baby, Tori," she said mournfully, knowing that unless she managed to file for and be awarded sole custody of her child, he would always have one foot in the door now.

Jade almost relapsed into tears, but Tori held her in strong arms and whispered reassurances that she wasn't alone, that everything would turn out fine in the end, and the goth believed her. Eventually, the brunette pulled the other young woman up and led her upstairs.

"You can stay in one of the guest rooms or you can stay with me in my room, if you like," Tori offered softly. "It's already two in the morning, and it's probably not a good idea for you to drive right now, since you're so upset," she pointed out reasonably. She could control herself for one night, if Jade chose to stay with her.

Jade swallowed and almost smiled. She knew that she could always count on Tori. "I'll stay with you," she said as she dragged the half-Latina behind her.

The two of them curled close together under the sheets and exhaustion set in. Jade, who had been awake for nearly twenty-four hours, was asleep almost instantly, but Tori stayed alert just long enough to press a sweet kiss to her forehead.

"You're going to make an amazing mother. Goodnight, Jade," she whispered before she lost the fight against her heavy eyelids and let sleep claim her.

When Jade woke the next morning, she was relieved to find that she didn't feel sick to her stomach yet. She looked at the space next to her in bed and saw Tori sleeping peacefully. "Vega," she murmured, reaching out to gently shake the girl's shoulder. "Wake up."

Tori yawned and blinked to clear the sleep from her eyes. "Morning, Jade. How are you feeling?" she asked casually, taking care to remain nonchalant. Jade hated pity, and she didn't want the dark-haired actress to incorrectly assume that she pitied her for being pregnant at seventeen because she really didn't. She was sympathetic, but she knew that Jade would be fine because she was a fighter.

"I feel fine right now," she responded before sighing. "Tori, I want you to come with me to tell my parents," she blurted out, nearly shuddering at the imagined looks of disappointment on her parents' faces.

Contrary to popular belief, Jade didn't have a horrible home life or even horrible parents. Her parents, Zachary and Jaina West, were actually incredibly supportive of her artistic pursuits, and they always encouraged her to reach for the stars. She was close to her parents and that made this even harder because she knew how hard they would take the news that she was pregnant because of "that arrogant little Canadian boy," in the words of her father.

Her parents had always hated Beck, and they never believed that he was good enough for her. Her mother remained steadfastly convinced that Jade didn't act like herself around him, and she'd even caught her father muttering wistfully to himself about the possibility of having him deported. The only reason that they'd never attempted to force her to break up with him was because she had assured them that he made her happy.

"Alright," Tori agreed easily. "Just give me a minute to get dressed and then we can go, unless you'd rather eat breakfast first," she said, rising to grab some clothes from her closet and then going into her en-suite bathroom.

"No, I just want to get this over with," she sighed, feeling disappointed in herself for letting this happen.

If she had just left things with Beck alone after they broke up three months ago, instead of deciding to sleep with him one last time when he came to her six weeks ago, then she wouldn't be in this situation. She knew that was the day she'd gotten pregnant because they hadn't fucked for weeks before that day. The irony of the situation was that he didn't even remember going to bed with her that afternoon. He'd been so drunk he didn't remember a thing.

Jade was brought out of her thoughts when Tori reentered the room, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a royal blue button-up. "Are you ready to go?" Tori asked, receiving a nod in return.

Both girls headed downstairs in silence, and they agreed with a look to take Jade's car. The goth wasn't eager to be alone when she was already so nervous, and Tori could tell that she would need the company.

Her mind was entirely focused on Jade's situation, and her thoughts kept circling around to Jade's statement from the previous night. _I don't want him around me or my baby…_ Then, she had an idea, and she began to wonder if Jade would go for it… She thought she would, considering she could feel the fear that was radiating off of the usually intimidating other girl, could almost see it in the air.

"What's up, Vega?" Jade asked, going for her usual bitchy tone but not quite managing it.

"You don't want anyone to know that Beck is the father of your baby, right?" she asked calmly. The more that she thought about, the more sensible her idea seemed to be. Beck was unstable and he had no place being around either Jade or her unborn baby, and if Tori's plan went off without a hitch, then he would never even know that he had a son or daughter out there.

Jade glanced her way sharply, an inquisitive glint in her eyes. "Of course," she said, and Tori nodded.

"If you could tell them that it was anyone else's baby, anyone at all, would you do it?" Tori pressed. It would be a sacrifice, but Jade was worth it. Beck could not be allowed to know that he'd fathered a child with Jade.

"In a heartbeat." Jade spoke without thinking, but she meant it. That bastard was spiraling fast, and she didn't want to get dragged down with him. She sure as hell didn't want him screwing up an innocent child's life with his problems – she already had enough of her own to deal with.

"If you want, I can take care of that for you," Tori offered seriously. "When you tell your parents, I'll jump in and you just go along with it, okay? No one but you or I ever have to know the truth." It wouldn't even be difficult. No one would ever suspect unless they did a DNA test, and no one would ever have a motive. It wasn't as if Beck had anything to gain by calling Jade a liar and insisting that the baby was his.

The car was silent for a moment as Jade thought, absentmindedly pulling into her driveway. What could Tori possibly do to fix this? Then again, what did Jade stand to lose by going along with her plan?

She took a deep breath. "Okay, Tori. I'll go along with you, now let's just get this over with," she sighed, leading the way to her front door and entering the house. "Mom, Dad! Can you both come into the living room, please? I have something I need to talk to you about!" she called, not waiting for the sound of footsteps before leading her companion into the spacious living area.

A moment later, Jade's parents entered the room, and they were both struck by the scene before them. Their daughter was perched on the edge of her seat, and she had her hand wrapped tightly around a young brunette girl's hand. Mr. West was immediately suspicious of the contact. He and his wife exchanged a glance before taking seats on the loveseat directly across the coffee table from the two girls.

Jade didn't allow her parents to say anything before she began speaking. "I know how disappointed the two of you are going to be, but I need to tell you both that I'm pregnant," she said clearly, making an effort to avoid rushing through the words because she didn't think that she could say it again if they didn't understand her.

Both Mr. and Mrs. West were shocked, but Zachary was quickly becoming red in the face. He was the first to break the silence. "It was that Canadian boy, wasn't it?" he demanded, as he stood abruptly from his seat.

Jade flinched in the face of her father's anger, and sent up a prayer to any deity who cared to listen that Tori managed to calm him down with whatever plan she'd devised to keep anyone form knowing the truth.

"Mr. West!" Tori cut in before the man could continue his tirade. "The baby isn't Beck's…" she trailed off for a moment to ensure that she had his attention, "it's mine." The moment the words left her lips, the room's other three occupants froze. Tori got two blank stares and an incredulous glance from Jade for her trouble.

Zachary sank back into his seat next to Jaina, both of the elder Wests certain that they must have heard wrong. Jade, for her part, maintained an inscrutable façade, even though she wanted to stare at Vega as if she'd lost her damn mind. Granted, her father seemed less furious, but that wouldn't last long considering he was educated enough to know that there was no way that Jade was impregnated by a female.

Tori cleared her throat quietly, almost in shock herself over the fact that she was about to reveal her deepest secret to the girl who acted like she hated her most in the world. Not to mention, she was about to take total responsibility for another man's baby.

"My full name is Victoria Dawn Vega. I go by Tori, and I was born intersexual, with the reproductive organs of a male, although I identify as female. I've known since I was five years old I was different from everyone else," she revealed before grimacing shamefully. "I want you to know that Jade and I always took the proper precautions, but there's a reason they say that protection isn't guaranteed to be one-hundred percent effective."

Tori swallowed, easily forcing tears to her eyes and then holding them back. "I honestly can't tell you how sorry I am for getting Jade and I in the situation that we're in, but I want you to know that I'm prepared to take full responsibility for Jade and the baby. I care very much for your daughter and our unborn child. I want nothing more than to know that they're both safe, healthy, and happy," she said strongly, looking Mr. and Mrs. West directly in the eyes as she spoke.

Jade was shocked more and more with every word that came out of Tori's mouth, but she refused to show any sign of it on her face. Now, she understood why Tori had asked if she'd be fine with anyone but Beck being known as the father of her child – she was trying to ask if Tori herself would be an acceptable replacement, without giving away her secret prematurely.

So many things made a hell of a lot more sense now that Jade knew Tori's secret. The young Latina never changed in front of the other girls when they got dressed for their performances. She never wore tights jeans like all the other teenage girls at their school. She got uncomfortable if Cat tried to sit in her lap the way that the redhead did with everyone else.

Tori Vega, widely known to be one of the hottest girls at Hollywood Arts, had a dick. In other circumstances, Jade may have gently teased Tori about it, but they weren't in other circumstances.

Tori had just taken the fall for getting Jade pregnant to save her from being forced to interact with Beck, and she was genuinely grateful. It didn't matter to her that Tori was different, not that it would have under any other circumstances – hell, Jade loved different, unusual things. She was just ecstatic to know that her secret was safe and no one would know that she was carrying Beck's baby, and she sure as hell wasn't about to burst her parents' bubble that it was that damned Canadian who got her pregnant rather than the other girl.

Mr. West, on the other hand, was not at all ecstatic. He was stunned, completely blindsided by the news that this girl, Victoria, had gotten his daughter pregnant. At the same time, he could see how much she obviously cared for Jade, which was a bit reassuring. Overall, he didn't know what to think, though he spared a moment to be thankful that it wasn't that damned Oliver boy that got his little girl knocked up. He sank into his seat with a deep frown on his face.

By his side, Mrs. West was having a slightly easier time of things. It was obvious to her that Tori cared deeply for Jade, and, while she wasn't at all fond of the fact that the tan teenager got her baby pregnant, she respected the young woman's sense of responsibility and accountability for her actions. And she could see the fear in Jade's eyes. She knew her daughter well enough to know that she was afraid of letting herself and her husband down.

Jaina sighed. Disappointed though she may be, she knew that she really had no other option but to support her daughter because she would need all the support she could get if she was going to have a baby of her own.

"I appreciate you saying all that, Tori. I won't lie and say that I'm pleased by this situation, but I'm glad that you obviously care so much for my daughter," she said truthfully, feeling a bit amused at the look of intense relief in the younger woman's eyes. "Jade, honey, I love you and I want you to know that you have my full support because, even though I am disappointed, I'm mostly disappointed _for_ you," she said gently, reaching across the coffee table to take Jade's hand in her own.

Jade sighed deeply in relief. "I really am sorry, Mommy," she murmured, using her childhood name for her mother, the word slipping from her lips before she realized what she was saying. She blushed a little, but her mother smiled lovingly at her.

"Do you know how far along you are?" Jaina asked. She thought Jade couldn't be too far along because she wasn't showing at all yet. Then again, Jaina herself hadn't begun showing until she was already sixteen weeks, a full four months, into her pregnancy with Jade.

Jade shook her head. "I only just found out early this morning, so I don't know how far along I am. I must be more than a few weeks along, though, because I didn't get my period this month and I've been getting sick in the mornings for the past few days," she explained, and her mother nodded.

Zachary finally got his thoughts together while his daughter was speaking, and he cleared his throat when he was done. He glanced at his daughter. "Jade, I agree with your mother that we'll absolutely support you. Just because you've made mistakes doesn't mean we're ever going to stop loving you or being there for you," he said gently, and she smiled a little.

He then turned to Tori. "I hope for your sake that you're serious about taking care of my little girl because I won't tolerate for Jade to be treated any less spectacularly than she deserves," he said warningly, his respect for the young woman growing a bit when she met his eyes steadily and nodded. "You and I will be having a private discussion very soon," he finished.

Tori nodded in agreement. "I completely understand, sir, and I have no intention of treating Jade at all less wonderfully than she deserves. And, of course, I'm willing to talk whenever you like and I'll do my best to answer any questions or concerns you may have," she said seriously, feeling like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. For all intents and purposes, she was the "father" of Jade's baby now, and she wanted Jade's parents to like and approve of her.

Her attention was diverted from Mr. West when she heard a sharp inhale to her right. She glanced over to find Jade standing and rushing from the room, and she automatically began following her. She chased the other down the hall, only stopping when they passed the kitchen to quickly fill a glass with some water. She knew that Jade would want it after she was done being sick.

Tori followed the sounds of Jade throwing up and soon found the bathroom that she was in. She placed the glass on the sink before kneeling down to hold the other girl's hair back, while gently rubbing her back until she was finished. "I'll wait for you in the hall," she said quietly, moving out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

Jade shuddered with disgust as she cleaned herself up and rinsed out her mouth several times before drinking the water Tori had brought for her. If it had been anyone else, she would have been outraged that they'd followed her and seen her when she was vulnerable, but Tori had always made Jade feel safe. That's why she always went to her when she had a problem that her parents couldn't help her with.

Besides, after what Tori'd done for her, she felt like she could trust the songstress more than ever. No one but her parents had ever done something so meaningful for her, and she found herself wishing that it was true and Tori _was_ the other parent of her child, as strange as that may be.

After she was cleaned up, she joined Tori in the hall and smiled when she saw the concern in Tori's brown eyes. "I'm fine," she said automatically, answering the unspoken question that hung in the air. "Come on, we should get back to my parents," she said, reaching out and clasping their hands together, making no mention of what Tori had done for her. They could talk about that when they were alone somewhere, with no chance of anyone hearing.

As the reentered the living room, they saw Mr. and Mrs. West watching their daughter with love and concern in their eyes. The two adults relaxed when they saw that she was fine, and Mrs. West shot Tori a look of approval. Even Mr. West seemed to relax a bit more.

"So, how long have the two of you been seeing each other?" Jaina asked once the girls were seated once more. The fact that Tori had automatically run after Jade to make sure that she was okay, without even thinking twice about it, had her thinking that her daughter had certainly traded up from the little punk she'd been dating before.

"I've had a crush on Jade since we first met, but I didn't want to interfere in her relationship. So, I waited until she was single before I asked her out, and we've been dating for the past two months and two weeks," Tori said smoothly, giving off no hint that she was lying, and Jade nodded. The timeline was acceptable for explaining her pregnancy, and her parents should be satisfied that at least they had been dating for some time before they supposedly slept together.

Jaina nodded and thought for a moment before turning to her husband. "Zach, will you give me and the girls a bit of time alone, please?" she requested, communicating with her eyes that it would be best to agree. She could tell that he was feeling more overwhelmed than she was at the thought of their daughter becoming a mother.

Once he had agreed and left the room, she smiled at her daughter and her girlfriend. "Now, I think that we should have an honest, open discussion together so that we can begin planning how to go about everything," she said plainly.

Jade and Tori shared a glance, and silently agreed to go along with it. "What do you want to know, Mom?" Jade asked respectfully.

"How long have the two of you been sexually active?" Jaina asked pragmatically. Despite the fact that she would actually rather not know, it was better to be fully informed about her daughter's situation. "Both in general and with each other," she added.

Jade spoke up first, swallowing nervously. Despite her bad girl attitude, she didn't feel comfortable discussing such things so openly with her mother. "Tori and I have been active for the past seven weeks, but I've been active since last summer," she said, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with her mom.

"I became sexually active in the fall of last year," Tori said calmly. After having so many conversations with doctors concerning the sexual nature of her body, she wasn't embarrassed by speaking about sex. She'd had to get used to it, so she was perfectly fine with it now.

Jaina nodded. She'd suspected, unfortunately, that her daughter had become active with the Oliver boy, so it was no surprise to her. "I don't need to know who they were, but I'd like to know how many partners both of you have had. Also, I need to know if you've both been tested to check for any sexually transmitted diseases."

Tori went first this time. "I've had three different partners, including Jade, and I actually have a standing monthly appointment with my doctor to get tested, as well as to get a full checkup," she revealed. Growing up, she'd always had monthly doctors appointments, and now that she was older she liked the idea of always knowing that she was perfectly healthy.

Jaina was impressed. Most people, no matter their age, weren't nearly so conscientious about their health, general or sexual. She was also pleased to know that Tori's list of sexual partners was still very short, particularly when compared with the list that most teenagers could and often did have. "Jade?"

"Including Tori, my number is two," Jade lied smoothly, knowing that her number was actually one. "I went to the free clinic to get checked out after my first time and then again six months later, and I planned to get checked out again in the next few weeks," she said, telling the truth this time.

Jaina nodded, glad to know that her daughter had done the right thing and gotten herself checked out. "Alright, now, we need to talk about the baby," she said, glancing at Jade's still flat stomach. "We'll have to call and make you an appointment at the gynecologist's office, so that you can have a checkup and an ultrasound to see how far along you are, as well as to get a prescription for the proper vitamins," she said and both girls nodded.

A thought occurred to Mrs. West, then. "Tori, do your parents know about the pregnancy yet?" she asked curiously.

Tori grimaced. That was the other secret she hadn't really been looking forward to sharing. "No, they don't and I don't have any plans to tell them any time soon, but I should explain. After my sister Trina graduated in May last year, my parents decided to travel the world. They had me emancipated and signed the house fully over to me, as well as giving me complete access to my trust fund."

"What most people don't know is that my family is wealthy due to the fact that my grandfather was in the oil business, and after he died all of his money was split equally between my father, my sister, and me," she revealed evenly. Despite the fact that she was only seventeen years old, Tori never had to work a day in her life if she didn't want to. She was already a billionaire.

"Tori's parents were hardly ever home even before all of that happened. They were always taking vacations and were hardly ever around for Tori," Jade added angrily. She didn't have to fake the outrage that she was currently feeling. She couldn't believe that anyone could just abandon their child that way, especially when they had a daughter as genuinely kind and wonderful as Tori.

Mrs. West was stunned and she felt even more respect for the young woman before her. Despite the fact that she'd been left to fend for herself, she was both polite and responsible, from what Jaina could tell. "I'm sorry to hear that, Tori," she said genuinely. She couldn't imagine ever doing such a thing to Jade.

"I want you to know that you can come to me if you ever need advice or help with something," she offered. Tori was obviously going to be a big part of her daughter and grandchild's lives, so she'd like to build some kind of bond with her. Besides, if things progressed the way she felt they might, Tori might someday be her daughter-in-law.

Tori smiled. "I appreciate that, Mrs. West," she said genuinely. She never let on, but it was hard knowing that her parents didn't love her enough to stay with her. It was hard being on her own and forced to figure everything out for herself.

"Please, call me Jaina," she said with a smile. Even knowing that this young woman was responsible for getting her daughter pregnant, she was really starting to warm up to her, and she had a feeling that even her husband would soon falter in his righteous anger.

Jade was more startled by the request than Tori. She had expected a far more negative response to her situation than the reaction she was receiving. Her mother actually seemed to like Tori, which was good but still strange. She might have asked about it, but her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly.

Tori chuckled. "Sounds like someone's hungry," she teased lightly, though her mood dampened when Mr. West appeared in the doorway. She wasn't all that eager to have that talk with him, but she knew it had to be done.

"Jaina, why don't you take Jade into the kitchen and get her something to eat, so that I can talk with Tori," he suggested, and the West women exchanged a knowing glance.

Jade gave Tori's hand a squeeze before she got up and began following her mother into the kitchen, where she took a seat on a barstool in front of the island that stood in the center of the room. She laid her head down on her arms tiredly, watching her mom begin getting out the ingredients to make scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

"So," Jaina said, turning around to face her little girl, "how are you dealing with everything so far?" she asked gently, just now noticing that her daughter's naturally pale complexion was even paler than usual.

"I…" Jade yawned. "I feel a little better after talking to you and Dad, and I left the house early this morning after I took the test to tell Tori," she revealed, alluding to the idea that she'd told Tori about _their_ baby.

As she began preparing breakfast, Jaina spoke over her shoulder. "How did she take the news?" she wondered. Despite how collected Tori appeared to be, Jaina had no doubt that the young woman would have been shaken by the news that she and her girlfriend were going to have a baby together.

"She took it pretty well. I was pretty shaken up over it, so she just kind of focused on getting me calmed down," Jade admitted. "I was exhausted by then, since I'd been up since early yesterday morning and it was already two o'clock, so she asked me to stay since it was probably not a good idea for me to drive when I was so tired."

Jaina hid a grin as she flipped the bacon. The more that she heard about her daughter's girlfriend, the more that she approved of her. Though, there was one thing that was bothering her. "Jade, why didn't you tell your father or I that you were dating Tori?" she asked softly, turning around to make eye contact.

It couldn't have been because Tori was female, or even that she was intersexual, because they'd known for years that Jade was bisexual and her daughter knew that she would never judge a person based on their gender.

Jade grimaced. "I'm sorry, Mom," she apologized. "I know that I should have told you, but I guess I was just being selfish. I didn't really want anyone to know, just so that we could have some time to ourselves without having to worry about anyone else. I was going to tell you and Dad soon, but then this happened and…" she trailed off.

She was almost surprised by how easily the lies came. Of course, not everything was a lie. It was more of a careful mixture of truth and lies woven together to create a believable and mostly true story. It was only the information about her "relationship" with Tori that was untrue.

"I understand, but I think your father's big you're-dating-my-daughter speech has been cranked up a few notches now that it's being compounded with the you-got-my-little-girl-pregnant speech," Jaina said wryly, feeling a slight ache in her chest at the words. She was going to make the best of it, but it was hard, knowing that her daughter had fallen pregnant at seventeen.

Jade groaned quietly, though there was a hint of a smile in her voice when she spoke. "I almost feel sorry for Tori right now. Almost," she chuckled quietly.

For the moment, it seemed that everything was going to turn out fine, and she couldn't deny that it was because of Tori. _You always manage to come through for me, don't you, Tori?_ She shook her head ruefully. _Thanks, Vega._

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: Hey, girls and guys! This is the first story I'm posting on here, so I hope you all like it! I can't wait to see where it goes! Fair warning, I'm a college student so no guarantees as far as updates go, but I promise I won't abandon the story so just hang in there! Anyway, review and let me know what you think!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**


	2. The Talk

**Pretending to Fake True Love**

 **Chapter Two: The Talk**

 **February 12, 2017 - Six Weeks Pregnant**

Tori couldn't help running an anxious hand through her hair as she sat alone with the man who thought that she got his little girl pregnant. Something told her that this talk wasn't going to be all sunshine and smiles.

Mr. West took a seat directly across from Tori and fixed her with a cool stare. He'd had a few minutes to collect himself when his wife was still talking to the girls about the…pregnancy, and he'd settled on a few concerns that needed answering. He needed to be sure that this girl was serious about his daughter, unlike that fluffy-haired moron that she'd been dating before.

"Tori, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I would appreciate it if you would be completely honest in your answers," he said candidly, maintaining strict eye contact with the girl.

"Of course, sir," she agreed, feeling only the slightest pinch of guilt that she was already deceiving the man by pretending that she was the "father" of Jade's child. But she couldn't really bring herself to regret it – this is what Jade needed.

"How long have you been sleeping with my daughter?" Mr. West asked tersely.

Tori gulped at the look in the man's eyes and had to scramble for the answer that Jade had given her mother. "Seven weeks, sir," she said slowly, forcing herself to hold his gaze. She was no pushover but Jade's father's glare could probably make even a fucking tiger cower like a scared kitten.

Zachary took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "And was that Jade's decision, or was it yours?" he asked icily, laying it on thick and watching for the teen's reaction. If he didn't like what he saw in her eyes then she wouldn't have to worry about having any more kids…

Tori's eyes narrowed at the accusation. "It was a mutual decision, Mr. West. I would never hurt Jade or any woman like that," she said harshly, almost flinching at the very thought of anyone violating the spirited goth that way.

His eyes widened. He hadn't expected that strong of a reaction, but it was extremely reassuring. He could see the truth in her eyes and he knew that he could count on this girl to protect his daughter. "I'm glad to hear that," he said slowly. "But regardless of the circumstances that led to my grandchild's conception, that baby exists now and it's your responsibility to help Jade through this situation," he said seriously, laying aside the intimidation tactics to get to the core of what he wanted to talk to the teenager about.

"I understand that, sir, and I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to make this process as easy as possible for Jade." That was the whole reason she was doing this, after all…

"There are a few things that I need to know and that you should be thinking about now that my daughter's going to have a baby. First of all, I'd like to know how you intend to support my daughter and my grandchild. I hope you don't intend to force Jade to rely upon Jaina and I for her sole source of monetary support," he said with disapproval in his voice. That wasn't to say that he was at all unwilling to provide that support, but rather he was unwilling to see his daughter and his grandchild stuck with a lazy bum for a partner and a parent.

Tori was only slightly surprised by the shift in the man's tone. Just moments ago, he was almost on the verge of flying into a rage, and now he was discussing the situation with her calmly, if a bit condescendingly. Of course, he was perfectly within his rights to assume that she was just some no-good teenager that was going to drag his daughter down. She could only hope that she would be able to change his mind. "Well, for the time being, I can rely upon the money that my grandfather left me…" She went on to explain, as she had to Jaina and Jade, about her family's monetary situation.

Zachary was relieved to hear about the state of Tori's financial affairs and even more reassured to hear about how maturely she had handled her family situation in the face of her parents' lack of care for her. Despite his sympathy for her situation, he still wanted to test Tori's mettle a bit. "So, you intend not to work then? You plan to live solely on inherited money for the rest of your life?" His tone was skeptical and he raised an eyebrow at her.

Tori's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, sir, not at all. I intend to become a singer, and I've already made some plans to get me started. After I graduate high school, I'll begin working on my first album. I've already signed a deal with Inspire Records for a full album," she said truthfully. "I've also been offered a small part in the next episode of the Star Wars saga, which begins production next year. The role doesn't pay much and I don't get much screen time, but it should help me to get my name out there."

"Well, it seems that you've considered _your_ future," Mr. West commented, admittedly impressed by her ambition and the fact that she had already signed a record deal. Seeing as he and his wife were both talent agents, he knew that even spectacularly talented people could go years without being recognized as such by the industry and getting that kind of opportunity. "Now, what about your future with my daughter? You and Jade have only been dating for a short time, but obviously the two of you moved quickly for her to be pregnant before Jaina or I even knew you existed."

Tori grimaced. "It's true, we did move quickly, perhaps too quickly," she admitted, squaring her shoulders and looking Mr. West in the eye. "We really should have waited, but I want you to know that I do care very much for Jade. As far as the future goes, I hope that Jade and I can be a family with our child. But even if things don't work out between us, I will always be there for her and for our baby. I won't abandon them, Mr. West, no matter what," she pledged strongly. As far as she was concerned, this was her child now, and she wasn't ever going to turn her back on Jade or the baby.

Zachary watched Tori carefully for any sign of deceit or insincerity, but what he found put him even more at ease. This young woman clearly cared a great deal about his daughter and intended to do right by her and by his grandchild, and he found that he respected her sense of responsibility. In fact, he was beginning to find that he already liked her a hell of a lot better than that damn Canadian boy.

He sighed. He wanted to keep up the interrogation, but he found that the tan teenager was already growing on him and he wanted to check on his daughter. "I suppose that's really all I need to hear for now. Just know," he began seriously, "if you ever hurt my daughter or my grandchild, there will be nowhere on this earth for you to hide where I won't find you."

Tori shivered at the implied threat. "I completely understand, sir," she said soberly. It was now crystal clear where Jade learned her intimidation tactics.

Zachary nodded, letting a small smile show on his face. "Now, would you like some breakfast?" he asked, standing and walking toward the kitchen.

"I'd love some, thank you." Tori looked up as they entered the kitchen and her eyes immediately went to Jade, whose chin was resting on her folded arms where she sat at the island. With her eyes closed, she seemed even paler than usual. She crossed the room to stand beside her. "How are you feeling?" she murmured, automatically reaching to rest a hand on her shoulder.

Jade looked up at the question and gave a half-smile at the comforting touch. "I'm fine, just a little tired," she murmured back, watching Tori as she sat in the seat next to her.

She found it hard to believe how much had changed in the course of the last twenty-four hours. Just yesterday, she'd been a regular teenage girl with her whole life ahead of her, and Tori had been the All-American girl in her group of friends that she thought had the perfect life. Now, Jade had realized she was pregnant and she was going to have to put in a lot of effort to keep her future on track, and she saw Tori for who she really was: a complicated person who was just trying her best to deal with the hand that life dealt her.

"Alright, everyone to the table. Breakfast is ready," Jaina interrupted the quiet moment, her arms laden with plates of food. "I hope you like scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon, Tori," she said as she began setting everything down on the table.

Tori grinned widely upon seeing the homemade food. "Everything looks delicious, Mrs. West," she complimented as she took her seat next to Jade on one side of the table.

"Ah, ah, ah. I insist, it's just Jaina," Mrs. West corrected her, though she had to smile at the sheepish look Tori gave her upon hearing the reminder.

"Well, let's dig in," Mr. West said eagerly. After the morning he'd had, he was more than ready to just eat his breakfast and try to get on with the day.

Fortunately for him, everyone else seemed to be of the same mind and there was little more than polite chatter throughout breakfast. After all of the food had been consumed, Mrs. West intended to take up the dirty dishes, but Tori beat her to it.

"I'll take care of these for you," she offered. "That was a wonderful meal. The least I can do is clean up," Tori continued. Honestly, it had been such a long time since anyone had cooked for her that she didn't mind cleaning up in the least.

Jaina blinked in surprise. "That's very nice of you, Tori, thank you." She turned to look at her daughter. "Your father and I have to go out now. We have our conference today, so we won't be back until late this evening," she informed her.

Jade nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay." She hesitated. "Is it alright if Tori stays for a while so that we can talk?" she asked carefully. She wasn't sure how her father might react to her request. Though when he'd come in from his talk with the Latina he hadn't looked on the verge of exploding, so she supposed things had gone alright.

Mr. West grimaced but then exchanged a glance with his wife. "Well, it isn't like you can get anymore pregnant than you are now," he mused but then gave his girl a soft smile. "That's fine, I'm sure that the two of you have a lot to talk about."

"Actually, Tori, I'd feel better if you would stay until Jade's father and I return this evening. Would you mind staying with her?" Jaina asked, hiding a small grin at the surprise in the teenager's eyes. You'd never suspect from her facial expression but her eyes gave her away. She supposed that it must seem odd for her to be so friendly to the person who got her daughter pregnant, but there was nothing to suggest that the decision to have sex hadn't been a mutual one, so Jade was just as responsible as Tori. Besides, the small glimpses that she'd had since the two arrived at the house that morning had shown her that Tori obviously cared deeply for her daughter.

"Of course, I'd be happy to stay until you and Mr. West return from your conference," Tori agreed respectfully. Honestly, she'd been hoping for a chance like this. If they were going to make this work, she and Jade needed to talk about how to proceed.

"Thank you, Tori. Alright, we're going to head out now. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call," Jaina instructed as she moved around the table to place a loving kiss on top of her daughter's head.

"I'll be fine, Mom," Jade said. Her amusement was clear in her voice. She should have guessed that her mother would be a bit overprotective when she found out that she was pregnant, but she couldn't complain when her most irrational fear about telling them was that they would just stop caring about her because she was irresponsible enough to get herself in this situation. Granted, their reaction may have been slightly angrier if they knew that it was actually Beck's baby…but thanks to Tori and her unique anatomy, that was now irrelevant.

"We'd best get going if we want to get there on time," Zachary said as he quickly hugged his daughter and began guiding his wife out of the room. "There's money for pizza in the usual spot, if you wanted to order takeout for dinner later," he instructed.

"Sounds good. Bye, Dad." Jade grinned as she watched her father tug her mother out of the room.

"Bye, Jade," he called from just outside the room.

A moment later the sound of the front door shutting, followed by the sounds of a car starting and pulling away, reached the girls ears.

For a moment, Jade just watched Tori wash and dry the breakfast dishes. She honestly couldn't believe that Tori had been willing to go to such an extreme for her, but she was extremely grateful. Of course, she felt a bit guilty for deceiving her parents but this was necessary for the protection of her child.

Of course, now that they were alone, Jade's natural curiosity was beginning to spring up and she had some questions for her "girlfriend." "So…" she started, wondering where to begin as she moved to sit at the bar across the counter from the object of her concentration. "You have a penis?" Apparently, her mouth decided to ignore her mind, which was searching for a more tactful way to begin the conversation, and dive right in.

Tori let out a laugh. She always could count on Jade to speak her mind. She dried the last dish before turning around to face her. "Yes," she said with amusement in her voice, deciding to see where the other girl would go with that line of questioning.

Seeing that Tori wasn't upset by her question, she decided to press on. "How exactly does that work? I mean, if I wasn't pregnant already and we had sex, would you actually be capable of getting me pregnant?" Jade asked curiously.

Tori chuckled at the question. "Yes, I could get you or any other girl pregnant. Basically, my lower half works just the same as any man's does. The difference, of course, is that you'd never know I wasn't a normal girl from looking at me while I'm dressed – unless I wear a pair of tight pants, that is," she added, leaning on the counter and watching the inscrutable expression on Jade's face.

"Huh. So, basically you always carry the world's best dildo with you," Jade mused with a straight face, before cracking a grin to show that she was joking and earning a small laugh for her efforts. "All joking aside, I think we do need to talk about what we're going to do about this whole situation," she said seriously, unconsciously placing her hand on her stomach. There wasn't even a small bulge yet – she'd actually lost five pounds from all the throwing up she'd been doing lately – but she knew it wouldn't be too long before she started to show.

Tori hummed in acknowledgment, her eyes drawn to glance at Jade's hand on her stomach. "I agree. Now that your parents think that I'm the one who got you pregnant, where do you want to go from here?" she asked, not letting anything show on her face just yet. She was committed to being a part of the baby's life, but she wanted to find out what Jade thought first.

Jade hesitated. Even though Tori had taken responsibility for getting her pregnant, would she really want to be a part of her and her child's life? "Well…" she hedged, unsure how to approach the question she wanted to ask. "I always dreamt of having a family of my own. You know, the stereotypical American-Dream type of thing: two parents living in the same house with the 2.5 children and a dog running around," she admitted slowly. "Seeing my parents' marriage when I was growing up just reinforced the idea in my head."

Upon hearing that, Tori let a small smile show on her face. "Do you think there's room for me in that family?" she asked nonchalantly, boldly reaching across the counter to hold one of Jade's hands in hers.

Jade's eyes widened when Tori held her hand, and she almost jumped when she started rubbing her thumb across the back of said hand. But then a smile crossed her lips at the question the other teen posed to her. Tori actually wanted to be a family with her and her baby?

It was then that something occurred to her. "Earlier, you told my parents that you've had a crush on me since we first met… Did you mean that?" she asked, surprise clear in her voice. With how she'd treated her for the majority of their friendship, she could hardly believe that Tori Vega could have feelings for her.

But now she had to wonder… Could it be true?

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: Hey, girls and guys! So, Tori's kind of on the spot – how do you think she'll respond? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out, of course, but drop me a review and let me know your thoughts! Speaking of reviews, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! It means a lot to hear from all of you! Now, as for future chapters, I am going to try to update at least once a month, but to help me reach that goal, the chapters are going to be shorter than the initial posting was. The first chapter was 6,000+ words, but for this and future chapters, I'm going to drop the word count to about 3,000+ so that I can get chapters out sooner for you to read. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you'll review and let me know what you think!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**


	3. The Answer

**Pretending to Fake True Love**

 **Chapter Three: The Answer**

 **February 12, 2017 - Six Weeks Pregnant**

Upon hearing Jade's question, her thoughts went into a spin. This could change everything, and she wasn't sure if that would turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing… Automatically, Tori's head ducked down and she reached up to rub the back of her head. It was a nervous tic of hers that she'd never fully gotten over and it was rearing its ugly head now.

She sighed quietly. She supposed there was no use hiding it now – Jade deserved to have all the facts going into this. "Yes, I meant what I said. I've had a crush on you since the first time I saw you, at the Big Showcase. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw you in Sikowitz's class that first day," she admitted, looking into Jade's blue-green eyes.

She could see the sincerity and affection in Tori's eyes. Honestly, she didn't have a clue how to respond to that. It wasn't that she was at all upset or disgusted or anything like that – she was bisexual herself, after all. It was just that she would never have guessed that _Tori_ of all people would develop a crush on her. And… "What about the baby?" she blurted out. "You can't honestly still like me when I'm pregnant with someone else's baby," she said adamantly.

Tori's eyes softened. "Jade, after this morning, the baby _is_ mine, as far as I'm concerned. If we're going to do this, I don't want you to think that I'm just putting on a show. I really do care about your baby as if it was me who helped create him or her and not Beck," she said slowly. "And the fact that you're pregnant doesn't affect my feelings for you, either. I still feel the same way about you that I did yesterday."

"You really mean that, don't you?" Jade asked in disbelief. "You honestly don't care that I'm going to get fat and have a baby in the next nine months?" The very idea of it was inconceivable to her. How could Tori still be attracted to her when she looked like that?

Tori couldn't help but chuckle a little at the incredulous look in the brunette's eyes. "Yes, I really do mean what I said. Besides that, you're not going to get fat, Jade, you're going to have a baby, and I'm sure that you will be just as gorgeous then as you are now," she said softly. "Even if you weren't pregnant and you did gain some weight, I would still like you because my feelings aren't just based on your body. I care about _you_ , as a person," she added seriously.

Jade had to look away. She glanced at their hands, hers still being lightly massaged by Tori's. She was being serious about her feelings, no matter how hard it was for Jade to believe it. Now, the question was: how did Jade feel about Tori?

Well, from a purely physical standpoint, it was obvious to her that the Latina was gorgeous. That much had been clear from the start – Jade wasn't blind, after all. As for her personality… The two of them had gotten off to a rocky start, but that was mostly due to her own jealousy over Beck, as well as the fact that she felt that Tori was serious competition. Now that they'd gotten to know each other more, she had to admit to herself that Tori actually had a lot of the qualities that she liked in a potential lover: she was honest, loyal, protective, affectionate – and she had enough patience to deal with Jade's mood swings. All in all, Tori was actually a very attractive candidate for being Jade's lover…

"I…" she hesitated. "I actually think that I might like you, too, Tori. I suppose I never really thought about it because I treated you so badly for the first several months that we knew each other, but I would actually really like to give us a try and see where this goes," she admitted, causing Tori's eyes to light up. "But are you sure that you want to be my baby's other mommy?" she asked uncertainly.

Tori walked around the bar to stand in front of Jade, who swiveled around to face her. "Jade, there is absolutely nothing that I would enjoy more than being a parent to your baby, to _our_ baby," she said softly, reaching out to gently place a hand on her stomach. "So, would you do me the incredible honor of going out to dinner with me on Friday night?" she asked hopefully.

A grin slowly appeared on Jade's face. Tori really was serious about being in her life and in her child's life, and she really was attracted to her. "I would love to," she agreed before she narrowed her eyes at the tan brunette. "But if you break my heart my father will be the least of your worries," she threatened playfully, having already guessed that her father would have made his own threats, causing Tori to chuckle quietly.

"Yes, ma'am," she saluted before moving to take the seat to Jade's right. "Now that that's settled, I suppose we should talk about what we're going to tell everyone…" she trailed off, a small grimace crossing her face.

Jade hummed, a frown crossing her lips. "I suppose there's really no way to hide it long-term. Considering that I'm already six weeks pregnant, I'd guess that I've only got about two months left before I start showing," she said slowly.

Tori nodded in agreement. "Well, I suppose there are really only two things to figure out. First, would you rather tell everyone about our relationship before they find out about the pregnancy? And second, would you rather tell everyone about the pregnancy before you start showing or when people start getting suspicious?" she asked logically.

"I think I'd like to hold off on telling anyone about the pregnancy, for now…" Jade hesitated before going on. "Just in case it…doesn't work out."

Tori nodded grimly and reached out to place a comforting hand on Jade's shoulder, her fingers automatically going to work soothing the tense girl. "I'm sure that everything will be fine, Jade. I know that you'll do everything you can to make sure of it, and I'll be right here by your side, doing whatever I can to help you every step of the way," she reassured her, silently acknowledging how painful it would be for both her and Jade if she were to have a miscarriage.

A small smile appeared on Jade's face, and she hummed in agreement, enjoying the feel of Tori's hand lightly rubbing her shoulder. "You're right, but I think I'd still like to wait to tell everyone about the pregnancy for another month or so. As for our relationship, if it's alright with you, I'd like to tell everyone tomorrow," she suggested.

The corner of Tori's mouth quirked upward into a small half-smile. "I'd love that. How do you want to tell everyone? Do you want to just act like a couple and wait for them to ask about it, or do you want to make an announcement and tell them that we've been dating for the past two-and-a-half months?" she asked curiously.

Jade weighed the options in her head for a moment in an attempt to decide which would be the better course of action. On the one hand, if they just acted like a couple, it would probably seem more real. However, people would then be suspicious if Jade suddenly appeared pregnant and they would suspect that it was Beck's baby, which she wanted to avoid at all costs. On the other hand, if they made an announcement, no one would question that it was Tori's baby. Of course, people – their friends in particular – might be suspicious that they suddenly started telling people they were in a relationship. Considering both options, it was clear to her that it was better for people to suspect them for not telling anyone about their relationship until nearly three months after it began than for them to suspect that Tori wasn't actually the one who got her pregnant.

Jade's eyes widened. She'd almost completely overlooked another issue that they would need to solve: Tori's dick. "What are we going to tell people when they realize I'm pregnant?" she asked urgently.

Tori tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked, baffled by Jade's sudden intensity.

"I mean, what are we going to tell people about how I got pregnant? As far as everyone at school knows, you're no different from any other female on the planet," she reasoned, a small crease forming between her brows. "They're all just going to assume that either I cheated on you or that Beck is actually the father – or both."

A sigh left her lips as Tori ran a hand through her hair. "When we tell everyone that you're pregnant, I'll have to tell them about me," she said nonchalantly, though she couldn't deny that the thought made her a bit anxious.

Jade frowned heavily. "I hadn't even thought about the fact that you would have to out yourself to the whole school. But you did, didn't you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her quasi-girlfriend.

"Yes, it occurred to me when I first thought of the idea this morning, but I wasn't about to let that stop me," she said genuinely. Jade needed her, and she wasn't about to let her down just to save herself some discomfort and possible public ridicule.

Jade's eyes started to water a bit, and she wanted to roll her eyes at herself. These hormones were going to kill her before she delivered her baby in nine months. "You would do that for me?" she asked emotionally, as she considered the sacrifice that Tori was making for her. Humans were the cruelest animal on the planet, after all, and teenagers were the worst of the worst.

Tori's eyes widened at the sight of a tear rolling down Jade's cheek. "Of course. It was what you needed, and you're worth it to me," she said gently as she reached out to wipe away the tear with her thumb.

Jade smiled at the sincerity in the other girl's voice and in her eyes. Impulsively, she leaned over to place a kiss on the other girl's cheek. "Thank you, Tori, that really means a lot to me." She glanced down toward her stomach as if doing so would allow her baby to read her mind. _We're going to be a family._

She reached out to take Jade's hand again and smiled softly at her. "We should probably schedule you an appointment with a gynecologist so that they can check on the baby and get you some prenatal vitamins to start taking," Tori mused, silently thanking her lucky stars that she'd spent a lot of time in hospitals and around doctors when she was growing up. Being such a curious child, she'd learned all sorts of things wandering those sterile, white halls: everything from basic first aid to what to do during a pregnancy to how to clean a gunshot wound.

Jade looked up and nodded. "You're right, I probably need to start taking those as soon as possible. Come upstairs with me so I can get the number of my mom's doctor and make an appointment?" she asked, standing from her seat and throwing a questioning look over her shoulder.

Tori just nodded and followed Jade out of her kitchen and up the stairs. When they made their way into the dark-haired girl's bedroom, she couldn't help looking all around in curious examination. She'd never seen Jade's room before, aside from the small portion visible in the videos she posted on The Slap.

The room itself was rather large. The floors were a light grey hardwood, and the walls were covered in display cases which held everything from rare butterflies to signed manuscripts. The king-sized canopy bed that dominated one wall was draped with black velvet curtains and black silk sheets. A burgundy-colored duvet lay folded back at the foot of the bed. The sight looked so good to Tori that she was half-tempted to crawl between the sheets and take a nap.

Instead, she finished her observation of the room while Jade rummaged through some papers on her desk in an attempt to find the number she was looking for. A massive entertainment center took up the wall opposite the bed and there was a black leather loveseat between the two. On either side of the entertainment center were two massive windows with their black velvet curtains pulled to the side, allowing her a view of the side yard, which was full of gorgeous red maple trees, which hid from view the gorgeous red-brick wall that enclosed the property.

On the long wall that was visible upon first entering, she could vaguely see into the walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom attached to Jade's bedroom. Altogether, the room screamed of Jade's personality and Tori found herself feeling very at-home in the dark space. A second glance toward the desk that was to the left of the door, by the bed, showed that Jade had apparently found the number she was looking for.

Jade moved to sit on the loveseat and let a sigh escape her. She glanced up at Tori and tilted her head to the side to indicate that she should join her on the couch. After the tanned teenager had done so, she reluctantly dialed the number, simultaneously reaching out to hold her hand for comfort.

"Good morning, thank you for calling Dr. Green's office. This is Maggie, how can I help you?" The receptionist's voice almost made Jade flinch – she never realized just how high a person's voice could get.

She shook off the irritating sound and cleared her throat. "Hi, I'm calling because I need to make an appointment with Dr. Green, preferably as soon as possible," she said slowly, bracing herself for the woman's response.

"Okay, it looks like we actually had a cancellation for Wednesday at 1:30. Will that time work for you? If not, it looks like the next open appointment isn't until two weeks from Thursday."

A frown formed on Jade's face upon hearing the first available appointment. "Would you mind holding for just a moment so that I can check my schedule?" she asked, forcing her voice to come out calmly.

"Of course," the receptionist agreed easily, and Jade immediately hit the mute button on her phone so that the woman wouldn't be able to hear her.

She glanced up to see Tori watching her curiously. "The soonest they can get me in is on Wednesday at 1:30. If I don't take that appointment, then Dr. Green can't see me for another two-and-a-half weeks from today," she said worriedly.

Tori frowned as she caught on: Jade wanted to take the appointment on Wednesday, but they had school and it would be hard to explain why they both left early… Two weeks was just too long, though. It was important that Jade and the baby get checked out so that Jade could start taking those vitamins and they could find out her approximate due date. "Take the appointment on Wednesday," she advised. "Tomorrow, we'll tell the gang that we're dating, and then on Wednesday they'll just think that we left early to have sex or something," she said logically.

"What about our teachers?" she asked worriedly before mentally smacking herself in the face. "Never mind. I guess the smart thing to do would be to have my parents inform the office that I'm pregnant and that we'll need to be excused on Wednesday and any other day that I have doctor's appointments." Tori nodded in agreement, thanking her lucky stars that her parents wouldn't need to be notified, seeing as she was emancipated.

Jade hit the unmute button and cleared her throat to get the receptionist's attention. "Thank you for waiting. I'd be happy if I could take that appointment on Wednesday," she informed the woman.

"Great! I'll just need a few pieces of information from you to set up the appointment – we'll get the rest when you come in on Wednesday afternoon," she said nicely. "I just need to get your full name, date of birth, and the reason for your visit."

"My full name is Jadelyn August West, and my date of birth is July 26, 1999." She silently took a deep breath before continuing. "The reason for my visit is that I just found out I'm pregnant and I need to get my baby and myself checked out," she said confidently, squeezing Tori's hand.

"Alright, Miss West, I'll be glad to enter you in the system. Now, since you are still a minor, you will need a parent or guardian to accompany you to your appointment," she informed Jade.

"I understand. My mother will be with me," she responded, glancing at Tori with a thankful smile on her face, knowing that she'll be there as well.

"Wonderful, we'll see you here on Wednesday at 1:30 then. Bye-bye," she said cheerily, her already shrill voice climbing yet another octave, causing Jade to flinch as she said good-bye.

"Well, the appointment's all set up," Jade said tiredly, setting her phone down on the armrest.

A yawn escaped the goth, causing Tori to grin at her. "You sound like you could use a nap," she said teasingly, earning a playful glare in response.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, make fun," she grumbled good-naturedly. "A nap does sound good, though. It isn't like we slept all that long last night – well, I didn't, I don't know about you," she mused.

Tori frowned in agreement. "I'd actually only been asleep for about an hour before you showed up," she admitted. "Well, do you want to take a nap? I'll sleep on the couch if you don't mind," she said questioningly.

Jade rolled her eyes playfully. "Of course, I mind," she said haughtily, standing and grabbing onto Tori's wrist. "If you're going to be my girlfriend, then you're not going to be sleeping on the couch and leaving me alone in the bed – unless you fuck up and need to be taught a little lesson," she said with a small chuckle.

Tori grinned widely as Jade pulled her to the bed before fixing the duvet so that the two of them could lay on top of it and grabbing a massive, soft-looking throw from her closet to cover them up. "So, do I get to be the big spoon, or do you?" she joked.

Jade glared at her semi-seriously. "I'm the little spoon, but I swear that if you tell anyone… Well, you know how skilled I am with my scissors…" she trailed off while removing her shoes, miming a snipping motion, causing Tori to flinch at the implication. She chuckled and crawled into the bed, getting comfortable and laying on her side, facing away from Tori so that the other girl would take the hint and cuddle with her.

A soft smile lit Tori's face as she slipped off her shoes and joined Jade in bed, laying comfortably behind her and slipping an arm over her waist and pulling the throw over their bodies, up to their waists, her hand instantly being captured by Jade's and brought to rest on her stomach.

As they drifted off to sleep, they couldn't help both having the same thought: _I could get used to this…_

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: Hey, girls and guys! I was able to get this chapter done pretty quickly, so here it is! So, Tori and Jade are going to try a real relationship – there's no telling just how that might go. I hope you all enjoyed reading the chapter! Thanks again to everyone who left reviews – I hope to hear from all of my readers, it makes my day! Anyways, I'll get working on Chapter 4 and hopefully be able to get it out fairly quickly. Thanks again for reading, everyone!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**

 **Post-Script: Also, if you liked Liz Gillies' most recent show,** _ **Sex &Drugs&Rock&Roll,**_ **check out my new one-shot. It's called "All I Care About Is You" and it's a Gigi/Ava pairing. Thanks again, everyone!**


	4. Seven-And-A-Half Inches

**Pretending to Fake True Love**

 **Chapter Four: Seven-And-A-Half Inches**

 **February 13, 2017 - Six Weeks Pregnant**

Jade yawned as she made her way down the stairs and into her family's kitchen, and a small frown rested on her lips. She was really getting sick of the whole morning-sickness thing – and it had felt even worse because she didn't have Tori to rub her back the way the other girl had the previous morning.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Jaina called softly to her daughter, watching with a small amount of amusement as the girl automatically went about her normal weekday routine, making herself a bowl of cereal from muscle-memory alone as she had her eyes closed at the moment. She only interrupted when she knew that Jade would be wanting to get her coffee next. "Jade," she called for her daughter's attention.

Jade looked up suspiciously at the tone of her mother's voice, her hand already reaching for the door to the cabinet that held the coffee cups. "Yes?"

"Now that you're pregnant, I'm sure you know that there will be a lot of changes that you'll have to go through," Jaina began, wondering how best to break the news. She sighed and smiled wryly. "One of those changes is the amount of caffeine that you have each day. I know how much you love coffee, but if you have too much of it each day, it could negatively affect your baby," she said slowly.

Her eyes blinked and her head cocked a bit to the side as Jade considered her mother's words, and her small frown deepened. "How much is too much?" she asked, finally, waiting patiently for the answer. She was irritated that she wouldn't be able to drink as much coffee as she was used to having throughout her day, but she wouldn't do anything that could hurt her baby.

"Most doctors agree that any more than roughly one coffee cup's worth of coffee is too much caffeine for a baby to handle," she informed her daughter, smiling affectionately when she saw the hesitation in her blue-green eyes. "Don't worry, one cup won't hurt him or her. I drank a cup a day when I was pregnant with you, and both you and I were perfectly healthy throughout the pregnancy," Jaina said honestly – Jade hadn't gotten her coffee addiction from her father, and it had been a struggle to resist while she was pregnant with her baby girl but it had been worth it.

Jade shrugged. "Okay," she said, happily grabbing her favorite coffee cup out of the cabinet – it was black and had images of blood-red scissors all over it. "I almost forgot. While you were gone with Dad yesterday, I called Dr. Green's office and set up an appointment for Wednesday at 1:30. You said you were off that day, right?" she asked, as she waited for the Keurig to brew her coffee.

"Wednesday is fine, yes," she agreed, watching her daughter with a keen eye. "I didn't get a chance to ask you how things went with Tori yesterday afternoon. Was she still feeling okay about everything after your father and I left?"

Jade smiled as she grabbed her coffee and stirred two sugar packets into it, remembering her conversation with Tori the previous afternoon and the way the girl had admitted to having feelings for her. "Yeah, she was great, actually," she said truthfully.

"So, will she be accompanying you to the appointment on Wednesday?" Jaina probed nonchalantly, knowing that she was caught when Jade smirked knowingly at her. Her daughter always could read people extremely well, particularly her parents. It was impossible to keep a secret from Jade when she was determined to figure it out.

A chuckle escaped her lips before she took a sip of her coffee. "Yes, she'll be there. Actually, she was the one who reminded me that I should make an appointment yesterday before we decided to take a nap," Jade admitted with a shrug. "That reminds me. I need you to contact Hollywood Arts and let the school know that I'm pregnant and vouch for Tori being the quote-unquote father, so that they won't give us any trouble about missing classes any time I have an appointment to go to for the baby," she pointed out, and her mother nodded in understanding.

Jaina hummed, holding back a smile at the mention of the two girls taking a nap together. "I'll call them in just a little while and let them know. When are you planning on telling your friends about the baby?" she asked curiously, idly wondering if the group of teenagers even knew Jade was in a relationship with Tori. Of course, she didn't even have to wonder if they knew about Tori's secret – she was nearly certain they wouldn't – and she hoped for the tan songstress's and her daughter's sakes that they took all three pieces of news well.

Jade took another sip of coffee before answering her mother. "I decided to wait a while, maybe a month or so, but Tori and I decided to go ahead tell everyone that we were together."

"You weren't kidding when you said that the two of you kept things a secret from everyone," Jaina said with a slight smile, somewhat glad that she and her husband weren't the only ones in the dark about the relationship. "Well, you should probably hurry up and eat your breakfast, otherwise you'll end up being late to school. I'll be upstairs in the office if you need me," she said, receiving a nod in return before she exited the kitchen and headed upstairs and into the office, where her husband was waiting for her.

"So, what did she say about yesterday?" Zachary eagerly questioned his wife. His conversation with Tori the previous day had helped put him a bit more at ease than he had been immediately after he found out that Jade was pregnant with the other teenager's baby, but he was still wary and concerned for his little girl.

Jaina rolled her eyes at his eagerness. "She said that things went fine. Tori reminded her to make an appointment to get the baby checked out and then the two of them took a nap. After that, I don't know, but they both seemed happy enough when we got back yesterday evening," she pointed out. She wasn't as skeptical as her husband, but she knew he was just being protective of their only child and she loved him all the more for it.

He grumbled good-naturedly. "I guess you're right. She does seem like a responsible young woman, and I can see that she cares about Jade," he admitted. "It's just hard to get over the fact that our little girl is going to have a baby of her own." As close as she and her mother were, Jade had always been a daddy's girl, and he wasn't ready to let go of that.

"I know what you mean," Jaina agreed, smiling a bit sadly, "but she's growing up. She'll be eighteen before we know it, moving out of our home and into her own house with Tori. You don't really think that she'll stay here with us if things continue on the path they're on, do you?" she asked skeptically, when she saw his indignant look at her previous statement.

Zachary deflated a bit. "I suppose you're right about that, too. As long as she looks after our girl, I guess that's really all I can ask for, but if she hurts Jade or their baby in any way…" he trailed off with a mischievous smirk on his face, grinning innocently when his wife raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"Okay, come on, killer, time to get ready for work," she said with amusement, neither of them noticing Jade walking past the open doorway just then with a small smile of her own on her face.

After hearing her parents' conversation, she was glad that the two of them were really trying to be accepting of the mess that she'd gotten herself into – and that her mother was keeping her father's finger off the trigger where Tori was concerned. _And,_ she thought as she entered her bedroom and crossed into the en-suite bathroom to start her morning routine, _I have to admit that the idea of me and Tori living in our own house together, just us and the baby, sounds pretty nice…_

Jade finished up in the bathroom and immediately began searching her closet for a suitable outfit for the day. Her eyes scanned the room before lighting on her favorite pair of form-fitting black jeans, which she snagged off the hanger before she grabbed for a royal-blue, skin-tight, long-sleeved shirt that she paired with her favorite black vest and well-worn black combat boots.

A lacy black bra, pulled from her dresser as she walked toward her bed, that matched the thong she'd put on the previous night completed the outfit. She dressed quickly before grabbing her "Gears of War" messenger bag and heading down the stairs. As she passed the living room, she called a goodbye to her parents before grabbing her keys out of her bag and heading out the door to drive to school in her jet-black Shelby GT350R Mustang.

She loved the way the leather interior smelled as she drove to school, and she smiled wider when she pulled into the Hollywood Arts student lot and found that Tori's electric-blue Chevy Camaro was already parked in her usual spot next to Jade's. She quickly parked and grabbed her bag before locking the car and strolling toward the building. She didn't bother texting Tori to find out where she was – she knew the girl would likely be at her locker and she was right.

She beckoned to the other teen to join her when the Latina glanced up. As she waited, she opened her own locker and grabbed out the books she needed for the day. When Tori appeared in her field of vision, she gave her a small smile. "Hey," she said nonchalantly.

Tori chuckled quietly. "Hey. How were you this morning?" she asked quietly, voicing her concern. Obviously, she'd never been through morning-sickness herself, but she knew from experience that throwing up was never a fun activity and doing it every morning would probably be a miserable thing to go through.

Jade grimaced. "This baby really likes forcing me to get intimately acquainted with the view from the bathroom floor," she complained with a wry smile. "I'm just glad that so far I've only had that problem once every morning," she said mildly.

Tori hummed in acknowledgment, her eyes finally flickering over Jade's attire for the day. "You look amazing today, just as you do every day," she complimented, tacking on the last part when she saw the wicked glint in Jade's eyes and remembered her attack on that poor boy, Gilbert, the previous year when the poor boy tried to compliment her.

An innocent smile formed on Jade's face when her new girlfriend managed to avoid leaving herself open to a scathing inquiry. The incident with Gilbert had popped into her head, too. "So, when do you want to tell everyone that we're together? At lunch?" she prompted.

"That would probably be for the best. If we tell them then, someone else will probably overhear and the news will spread to the entire school before the final bell rings," Tori pointed out. "Plus, this semester we don't even have a class with them until Sikowitz after lunch."

Jade nodded in agreement. "Alright, so we'll tell them at lunch. We should get to class, I don't want to hear Mr. Holt's irritating voice scolding us if we're late to his class," she said, rolling her eyes. As she finished speaking, she got a text so she grabbed her phone out of her pocket and saw that it was from her mother. "Hold on, my mom just texted me."

 **From: Mom**

 **-Hey, Jade. I just got off the phone with your school's principle. She understands that you're pregnant, but she's skeptical about Tori. She wants the two of you to go to the office so that the school's registered nurse can verify Tori's…"anatomy" and be sure that she's your baby's other parent. Once it's verified, they won't have any issue with the two of you missing classes to go to your appointments.**

Jade's eyes widened and Tori looked at her quizzically. "What's up, Jade?" In response, Jade turned her phone around so that Tori could read the text. "Oh, is that all?" she asked with some amusement at seeing her new girlfriend's incredulous look.

"Oh, is that all?" Jade repeated sarcastically. "Yes, Tori, that's all. They just want to see your disco stick," she said scathingly, ignoring the smirk she got from the other girl when she threw in the Lady Gaga reference. "You're okay with that?" she asked seriously.

"Of course. It makes sense – my condition isn't exactly common, after all," she said reasonably. "Besides that, when you've had as many doctors examining you to be sure that you're healthy and that your body functions as it should as I have, you kind of lose any sense of embarrassment when it comes to being naked," Tori shrugged, as the two of them began walking towards the school's main office.

Jade hummed in response. She hadn't thought about it in that way before, but she supposed it made sense. "We're here to see Helen," she told the receptionist when the two of them walked into the office.

The woman nodded. "She's expecting you. You can go right in," she added, before returning to shuffling some papers around on her desk.

The two of them entered Helen's private office, not bothering to knock since the heavy wooden door was wide open. Helen and Nurse Jasmine were waiting for them with small frowns on their faces, and both adults' eyes went straight to the couple when they walked into the small room.

"Good morning," Helen said, before glancing at the nurse uncomfortably. "Jade, your mother called and informed me that you're pregnant, so I'll let all of your teachers know. They'll excuse you from class on any days that you have your prenatal check-ups. You'll just need to provide Ms. Connie, the receptionist, with a note from your doctor," she said, getting the easy part out of the way before turning to Tori. "Tori, with your permission, Nurse Jasmine is going to examine you very quickly so that we can verify what Mrs. West said about your gender."

Tori nodded in response, whereas Jade glared at the nurse, who was only in her mid-twenties and had all the guys at the school drooling over her when she first started working there. "That's fine. There won't be a problem with me missing class to attend Jade's appointments with her, will there?" she asked seriously. Even if it wasn't okay, the school would have to get over it because she wasn't going to miss any of them just because the school didn't want to excuse her from class.

"No, that won't be a problem at all. Now, Jade and I will step out into the office and shut the door so that you'll have privacy. Just knock twice when you're done and we can come back in," Helen said, standing from her desk chair and guiding a frowning Jade out the door, which she shut firmly behind them.

Jade fumed outside the door. Her fingers were itching to take her scissors, shove them in that nurse's face, and threaten her to keep her eyes off of Tori's equipment. She hadn't even seen that yet – why should that bitch get to see what was, from now on, for Jade's eyes only?

Helen wisely took a step away from the fiery-tempered goth. She'd seen the way the girl got when someone would so much as glanced at Beck Oliver's fluffy hair when she was dating the boy – she knew Jade would have an issue with someone seeing her girlfriend naked from the waist down.

Meanwhile, Nurse Jasmine cleared her throat before speaking. "Okay, Tori, this will be very simple. I just need to visually verify Mrs. West's claim about your genitalia. So, go ahead and pull down your jeans and your underwear, please. You don't have to remove them completely, I just have to examine you very quickly," she said, forcing herself to maintain a professional tone, despite the fact that she was very curious.

Tori nodded in understanding, before she casually undid her belt buckle, letting the two sides hang limply from her belt loops. A moment later, she had the button on her jeans undone and was sliding her fingers under the jeans and into her boxer-briefs, sliding both garments down her toned thighs in one fell swoop, letting them rest just above her knees before she stood straight once more, in all her glory.

Outside, Jade was waiting impatiently, and she was nearly ready to explode when the signal finally came that she could reenter the room. In an instant, she had nearly ripped the door off its hinges, and she swept inside. As her suspicious gaze explored the room, she found that Nurse Jasmine looked rather flushed, whereas there was an amused glint in Tori's eyes.

She strode over to stand next to the Latina and glanced at her with a questioning frown, causing Tori to lean down a bit and whisper into her ear. "I'll tell you once we're out of here," she promised.

Helen chose that moment to clear her throat and gather the attention of the room's occupants. "Well, Nurse Jasmine? Were you able to confirm what Mrs. West claimed about Tori?" she asked, frowning when she saw the dazed look in the other woman's eyes.

Nurse Jasmine swallowed. "I, um… I-I…" she stuttered, trailing off with a suggestive glance at the young Vega's crotch, once more appropriately covered to protect her secret and her modesty.

Helen's eyes narrowed. "Nurse Jasmine," she said sharply, "were you able to confirm Tori's anatomy? How did things look?"

"Things looked… It seemed to-to be…" Nurse Jasmine stuttered again, feeling hot. "It was…probably about seven-and-a-half inches when erect!" she blurted out, immediately flinching and covering her bright-red face with her hands in shame.

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: Hey, girls and guys! Sorry it took me a while to write this chapter – I've been fairly busy with midterms and all that. I do hope to post Chapter 5 within the next week or so, though, since I'm on Spring Break all this week! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Drop me a review and let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading, everyone!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**

 **Post-Script: Also, if you're an Elitoria fan, check out my new oneshot, "My Valentine." Thanks again, girls and guys!**


	5. And The Oscar Goes To

**Pretending to Fake True Love**

 **Chapter Five: And the Oscar Goes To…**

 **February 13, 2017 - Six Weeks Pregnant**

Helen choked on the sip of water she'd taken the previous moment. Automatically, she glanced at the student in question, forcing herself to keep her eyes on the young woman's face, rather than anywhere below the waist. She then turned her attention back to the nurse cowering under her fierce glare. "So, Mrs. West was correct that Tori is physically capable of impregnating Jade, meaning that she is the other parent of Miss West's baby?" she asked, forcing her voice to remain calm. She would reprimand the young nurse privately, after the students had left her office.

Jade played it off as if she were already in the know, so to speak, but inwardly she was mildly impressed. Seven-and-a-half inches… Beck had never surpassed five, if that, whereas Tori's seven-and-a-half was on the upper end of the so-called _average_ range, as far as length went. A shiver ran up her spine, and she glanced speculatively at Tori, who looked back at her with that same amused glint in her eyes. It then occurred to Jade that the nurse would have had to take a pretty close look in order to determine that, and she returned to glaring jealously at the embarrassed woman.

"Y-yes, ma'am. Tori appears to have a fully functioning penis." The nurse rushed the words out, subconsciously licking her lips. Her own boyfriend was barely six inches, so she was having a bit of trouble concentrating on her angry boss.

Upon hearing confirmation, Helen turned to the two students awaiting her verdict. "All right, now that we have confirmation, I will inform all of your teachers that the two of you are to be excused for any doctor visits and to accommodate the two of you accordingly," she said straightforwardly. She had no problem with allowing the students that privilege, and she actually found it admirable of Tori to want so strongly to be with Jade to support her at her appointments that she would willingly out herself as being different than the norm.

Tori smiled thankfully at her principal. "Thank you, Helen," she said sincerely. "Jade actually has her first appointment this Wednesday, so we'll be sure to get a note from the physician," she added, receiving a nod in return from Helen.

"All right," Helen said, before she noticed the still-seething Jade and cleared her throat. "Well, I imagine the two of you may need to discuss a few things, so tell Ms. Connie to inform your first period teacher that the two of you are excused from class this morning."

Tori grinned in thanks before taking Jade's hand and leading her from the office, while Jade sent one last glare at the still-cowering Nurse Jasmine. After a quick stop to inform Ms. Connie of what Helen had said, the two made their way to the rec room, knowing that it would be empty until lunch, at the least.

Jade frowned at Tori as the two took seats on the couch that took up most of one wall. "Seven-and-a-half inches, huh?" she asked nonchalantly, starting with the first thing that came to mind. She was still simmering over the fact that the nurse had seen her girlfriend's equipment before she had.

Tori ran a hand through her hair. "Actually, when they took all their measurements at my last major checkup, it was maybe an eighth of an inch below eight inches," she admitted a bit proudly. She may not have had the largest dick out there, but her member was in no way inadequate.

 _Well, damn. Tori's little secret isn't so little after all._ Jade's lips curled up at the corners before her frown returned. "I hate that the stupid nurse got to see you before I did," she said jealously. "You ought to know by now that what's mine is mine – I don't share, Vega. From now on, no one gets to see your package but me," she warned.

Tori chuckled quietly. "Believe me, Jade. I'm all yours," she winked.

Jade smiled happily. "Good, because I don't plan on releasing you any time soon. That asshole I was with before was barely five inches and acts like he's some kind of sex god," she rolled her eyes before she smirked when Tori began laughing loudly. "So, what exactly got that nurse all jumpy? Don't tell me just the sight of you was too much for her to handle." Jade raised an eyebrow when the Latina laughed again suddenly.

"I think she may have been harboring some fantasies about being fucked by another woman because she kept muttering to herself that she couldn't believe it was actually possible." Tori rolled her eyes. "She probably hasn't seen much action lately, either, because I think she actually drooled a little," she mused, making Jade snort derisively.

"Well, too bad for her because you're taken, and I really don't think that she wants to cross me," Jade said sadistically. "I almost pity anyone who gets in my way now, especially since my mother told me this morning that I can only have one cup of coffee every day." She scowled. Just because she knew the reason and wasn't willing to take any chances with her baby, that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

Tori laughed quietly. "I had a feeling you wouldn't be too fond of that fact," she admitted. If you asked anyone who'd ever been around Jade for more than five minutes, they'd tell you that she was obsessed with two things: scissors and coffee.

Jade pouted slyly when Tori laughed at her. "You know, I'd hate to have to go through that alone. You wouldn't mind only having one cup a day, too, would you?" she asked pitifully, holding back a smirk when Tori's eyes widened. "Some women make their partner gain weight with them while they're pregnant, so giving up coffee should be nothing in comparison," she pointed out, looking at Tori with wide, pleading eyes.

A frown settled on the tan teenager's face. She wasn't Jade-level obsessed with it, but she did love coffee… She sighed when she realized that, although Jade was clearly playing with her, the other young woman actually _would_ appreciate it if Tori would suffer the caffeine deprivation with her. "Okay, one cup per day," she agreed, before leaning down and looking seriously at Jade's stomach. "This is the first thing you should know about your mommy: she always gets her way, but it's worth it because she already loves you and so do I," she said softly, placing a kiss on Jade's cloth-covered abdomen.

Jade smiled happily when Tori agreed to her demand, and then her grin widened at Tori's cute little speech to _their_ baby. She gently ran a hand through Tori's hair before the other teen leaned back up and smiled at her. "You're too sappy for your own good, Vega," she teased playfully, "but I kind of like it," she finished, before she looked into those brown eyes that were staring back at her. She didn't give it a moment's thought before she leaned in.

Tori grinned and met her halfway. Their lips met and Jade's tongue swiped lightly against the Latina's lips, asking for entrance, which was quickly granted. The two girls' tongues danced slowly, neither fighting for dominance as both simply enjoyed their first kiss. When they broke apart, both girls' eyes were closed and both had soft smiles on their lips.

Neither spoke when they opened their eyes, communicating silently that they were both happy with their first kiss, despite the fact that they hadn't even been out on a date yet. It may have been a bit unconventional, but they themselves were in no way conventional. It worked for them and that was all that mattered.

Jade turned slightly and leaned back against the other girl, who guided the two of them back until the they were stretched across the length of the couch. Tori's arms wrapped around Jade's waist and she laid her hands over the goth's stomach.

Jade cuddled happily into the Latina half laying beneath her, half sitting up behind her to support her. She'd always secretly been a cuddler, and Tori was quickly taking up the number one spot on her list of favorite people to cuddle with.

Despite how abruptly things had changed in the past forty-eight hours, she found herself immensely happy with how things were turning out, so far. She hummed happily when Tori began gently rubbing her flat stomach with one hand. Jade reached out to grab the girl's other hand and link their fingers together, bringing their hands up to rest just below her chest.

The two remained that way until the tri-tone bell rang to let them know that it was time to head to their second period class. Reluctantly, the two sat up and disentangled themselves on the couch. As they grabbed their bags and headed out the door, they ran into a very flustered Nurse Jasmine.

It only took a second before the woman's face flushed pink and her eyes glanced toward Tori's crotch suggestively. Another few seconds passed and the woman made the mistake of licking her lips.

In the next moment, Jade had her scissors out and pointing at the woman's chest. "NO!" she yelled viciously, startling the woman into yelping and taking a few steps back. "Vega here is mine, you got that? I don't want your eyes or your thoughts or any other part of you on her again, or I will take these and shove them in your chest, do you hear me?!" she threatened, and the woman nodded quickly, her eyes dilated with fear, before rushing down the hall and out of sight.

Tori snickered quietly at the goth's side. "I bet that felt good after the past couple days, huh?" she asked knowingly and Jade smiled secretively in response.

Honestly, it felt amazing to the girl after the past day or two of stress and confusion. "That always feels good," she said confidently, tucking her scissors away into the outer compartment on the side of her bag.

Fortunately for the rest of the Hollywood Arts population, the two girls made it to class without further incident. Unfortunately for the school slut, Holly White, when Jade and Tori entered the room, she had just taken the seat between the only pair of unoccupied desks close together. Jade snorted quietly and led Tori to the back of the room. The bottle-blonde tensed when she realized that the goth was standing menacingly over her.

"What do you want, Jade?" the girl asked stupidly, attempting to meet Jade's glare with one of her own and failing miserably.

"Move," Jade commanded, standing back and watching with satisfaction as the girl caved to her demands immediately. "What?" she asked slyly when she was seated, glancing over at her companion.

Tori was leaning against her own desk with a small, exasperated smile playing on her lips. "Must you be so vicious to everyone who crosses your path?" she asked playfully, sliding gracefully into her own seat and tilting her head to the side a bit.

Jade chuckled quietly. "Just because I'm letting you in doesn't mean that anyone else gets to see my soft side," she responded, glancing dismissively at the other students surrounding her.

A smirk appeared on the Latina's face. "Good, because I want that side of you all to myself," she said teasingly, the two exchanging a meaningful glance just as the bell rang and the teacher entered the room.

The next two hours dragged before the pair were finally able to exit their third period classroom in anticipation of lunch. They strolled over to their lockers and dumped their things inside of their respective metal cubicles before joining back up and heading out to grab lunch from the Grub Truck. Then, each with a salad in hand, they finally made their way to their usual table, where Andre, Cat, and Robbie were already waiting for them. Beck hadn't sat with the group – or interacted with them at all – since his breakup with Jade.

"What's up, muchachas?" Andre said happily when the two took seats at the table, paying no attention to the fact that Jade and Tori were actually sitting rather close together, whereas the previous week Jade would have had a fit if Tori tried to sit beside her. "I was just telling these two that we should hit up Karaoke Dokie on Saturday. They're having a special on the buffalo nuggets," he added, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

Before Jade or Tori could respond, Cat interrupted with an excited giggle. "One time, my brother went to get some nuggets and fries for lunch, and when he got his change back from the lady, she gave him a nickel that had a buffalo on it." She paused. "He ate the nickel with the nuggets because he wanted to try buffalo nuggets, but he started choking and the lady who worked at the place had to use the Heimlich on him… He's fine now," she added happily, taking a bite out of her pizza and humming quietly to herself.

"You know, sometimes I almost forget that she's playing a character. She really doesn't want to lose that challenge Sikowitz gave her on our first day of freshman year," Robbie said, impressed by his girlfriend's dedication. He had slipped up a few weeks prior and returned to being his regular self – still a bit nerdy but willing to speak his mind and without a creepy puppet at his side twenty-four hours a day.

The others murmured their agreement, whereas Cat simply looked at them with feigned ignorance. The challenge was to keep up her act until the last day of senior year and there were only a few months left until that day came, so there was no way she was going to just waste all of her hard work. She wanted that reference from Sikowitz to put on her resume for when she started auditioning for roles.

Jade smirked and shook her head. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Vega and I will be there on Saturday night," she said, glancing at Tori with a question in her eyes.

Tori got what she was trying to ask and nodded with a smile. "Actually, we wanted to tell you guys something," she began casually, taking a moment to sneak a bite of her salad.

"What's up, Tor?" Andre asked, looking suspiciously between the two girls. "Jade, did you do something to Tori again? You didn't steal any of her blood, did you?"

Jade smiled slowly. "In a manner of speaking, I guess I did do something to her," she said, pretending to deliberate. "And I guess I did steal something, although it wasn't her blood this time," she said maliciously, her eyes narrowed slightly at the boy watching her cautiously.

Tori rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's theatrics. "What she means is that we're dating," she clarified. "We've been going out for two months and two weeks. We just wanted to keep things quiet for a while to avoid the questions," she lied smoothly, reaching out and taking Jade's hand over the table, the two automatically linking their fingers together.

The table's other three occupants looked at the couple with dumbstruck expressions, which began to draw attention from the rest of the student population that were having lunch outside. The boys' eyes glazed over a bit as they glanced almost frantically between the goth and the aspiring popstar. The two were the hottest girls at Hollywood Arts, so just the suggestion of them being together was every guy in the school's wet dream. As the boys fantasized, the silence stretched on, eventually widening to encompass the entire outdoor eating area.

Suddenly, the quiet was broken by Cat's exaggerated squeal of happiness. "Yay, Jadey and Tori are dating!" she blurted out, jumping up excitedly and rushing to hug her two closest friends. "Mr. Longneck told me you two would get together, but I didn't think it would ever happen!" she gushed excitedly, her eyes glinting with genuine happiness for her friends.

Cat's outburst set the rest of the students buzzing with the news and a loud hum broke out among the other tables, with people scurrying back into the building to alert anyone who hadn't been present for the revelation.

The influx of noise woke the boys from their daydreams and Robbie discreetly cleared his throat, his brain working to process the information. Andre, on the other hand, immediately burst into laughter.

Jade momentarily ignored him in favor of getting Cat to release her and Tori. "Cat, let go. 5…4…" she trailed off, her lips twitching upward when Cat obediently moved to retake her own seat. She then turned her attention back to the boy currently laughing his ass off across from her.

"You okay over there, 'Dre?" Tori asked with a raised eyebrow in her best friend's direction.

Andre got control over himself and his laughter died down to quiet chuckles. "Th-that's hilarious, you guys. I mean, you two, dating?" Andre laughed some more, oblivious to the frowns being sent his way from the pair in question. "That's even more unbelievable than some of the things my grandmother says, and you know she's about as crazy as crazy gets. But you guys really had me going for a minute there."

Jade and Tori exchanged a meaningful glance as Andre ranted on, happily oblivious to the silent exchange between the two girls. "I mean, seriously, you two should get an Oscar for that performance right there. I mean, it'd be like…" He trailed off when he finally saw what was right in front of him.

Tori and Jade had decided that it would be a waste of breath to try to convince Andre with words, so they decided to prove him wrong about his assumption with action instead. They locked lips for the second time that day, mouths moving together easily. When they parted a few moments later, they both silently agreed with that they could get used to that.

Andre struggled to find words for a moment, his mouth moving wordlessly before he found his voice again. "And the Oscar goes to…"

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: Hello again girls and guys. Another one bites the dust. So, Tori and Jade's newfound relationship is out in the open but the pregnancy is still a secret. Any thoughts on how things might develop or ideas you might like to see play out in the story? I love reading the reviews that you guys leave, so drop me a comment or a suggestion below! And, as always, thanks for reading!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**


	6. Freak Out

**Pretending to Fake True Love**

 **Chapter Six: Freak Out**

 **February 13, 2017 – Six Weeks Pregnant**

"Wait, you guys are serious?" Andre demanded when the girls rolled their eyes at his previous comment. "You two are really dating?"

Jade raised one eyebrow. "I don't usually make it a habit to kiss people I'm _not_ dating, so what do you think, Harris?" she asked sarcastically.

Tori just stared at the boy for a moment. She could tell something was up by the way that his right eye kept twitching just slightly. She'd only ever seen that happen when he was irritated and about to lose his cool or just plain freaking out about something.

"I think that's completely ridiculous," he fired back. "I mean, you two hate each other," he backtracked, firmly shaking his head. The feud between the two popular teens was legendary at the school, after all.

Jade and Tori exchanged a glance upon hearing his protest, both smirking. Despite what the rest of the school may have thought, the two had never hated each other or even irritated each other as much as they let on.

"We never hated each other, 'Dre," Tori refuted the accusation. "We were just testing each other, trying to figure each other out. Jade and I have been close friends almost since my first day at Hollywood Arts," she revealed honestly. She'd actually felt a bit guilty, as the two became closer, that she was keeping such an important secret to her being from the goth.

"We just never let the rest of you in on the secret because it was none of your business," Jade casually added, before spearing a bit of her salad with a fork and taking a bite. The fact that she was so close with Tori was a major factor in her ending up at the girl's door when she found out about the pregnancy.

Andre was dumbfounded as he watched his friends begin eating their lunches and strike up a conversation, like nothing was wrong, like nothing had changed. Was he the only one seeing things clearly? "Hold up!" His eyes narrowed as he interrupted a conversation about Robbie's car search.

The table's other occupants looked at him with skeptical looks on their faces, aside from Cat, who was pretending her pizza was an airplane – she didn't let on that she was just as interested in what Andre would say as everyone else was.

"You're really serious about this? And you two, you think this is okay, for them to date?" Andre turned on the other couple at the table, and his tone was just as accusatory when he addressed Robbie and Cat. He couldn't believe they could be so casual about the whole thing.

Robbie frowned deeply. "Why wouldn't it be okay for them to date? Yeah, it's kind of a surprise…" He shrugged. "I mean, sure, we thought they hated each other, so it's a little weird to think that they're dating. But as long as they're happy, what does it matter what we think?" he questioned logically. He had a few cousins who were in same-sex relationships and his family was very open, so it was no big deal to him.

"They're both girls!" Andre retorted loudly as he stood from his seat and slammed his hands on the table, again drawing the attention of the other students, who began watching the confrontation with interest. "They can't be together, it's not right! If they're friends, fine, but they should be dating boys, not each other!"

Tori glared at her best friend, who was looking at her and Jade like they were some disgusting things that crawled out of a hole in the ground. "What's your problem, Andre? Why should it matter if we're both girls? In case you haven't noticed, this is the twenty-first century. There's nothing wrong with anyone expressing their sexuality, regardless of how they choose to do so or who they choose to love," she said firmly, standing up to meet his cold glare with a heated stare of her own. She really hated how ignorant people could be about things like that, and she couldn't believe that one of her best friends was acting like she and Jade had suddenly turned into creatures out of a horror movie just because they were dating each other.

The other students listening in murmured their agreement. Hollywood Arts was well known for being an accepting place for anyone to express themselves however they wanted. There were numerous out-and-proud gay and lesbian couples in attendance at the school.

"My problem is that it's wrong! It's you people who are screwing everything up! You ruin everything just because you don't want to be happy, you fucking dyke!" he spat at Tori, and Jade jumped up from her seat, scissors already in hand and pointing toward the boy's throat.

"Don't you ever fucking call her that again!" Jade's blue-green eyes were blazing with rage. "I don't care what your problem is – keep it to yourself, unless you want to get personally acquainted with these babies!" She cut the air and the blades swooshed together with a menacing _zing!_

"I think you need to go, Andre," Tori said firmly, leaning toward him and glaring harshly into his eyes, which had widened a bit at Jade's threat. Her shoulders were tense from anger and she was working hard to keep herself in place, instead of acting on her urge to let her aggression out on the boy.

"Yeah, we don't like backwoods homophobes like you!" A random guy's voice floated over the murmuring crowd that surrounding the table where the confrontation was taking place.

Andre gritted his teeth in anger that no one seemed to realize how wrong this all was. "Fine, I'll go, but don't expect me to come back until you give up on this stupid _relationship_ ," he sneered, grabbing his bag and stalking through the crowd, which parted as he drew near, almost like he was diseased and his illness would spread if someone so much as touched him.

Once he was gone, Robbie stood up and looked at the onlookers surrounding them. "Okay, show's over, everyone," he called, and the crowd returned to what they were doing, though many still threw glances at Tori and Jade, who took their seats once more. Robbie sat back down with a sigh. "I can't believe Andre freaked out like that," he said in disbelief.

"Andre was such a meanie! I can't believe he said all of those things about you two!" Cat said overdramatically, forcing herself to remain in character. What she really wanted to do was find Andre and give him a piece of her mind for the things he'd said to her two best friends.

Tori grimaced. "I can't believe it either, Cat," she admitted. "I've never seen Andre lose it like that, not even when that Hope chick was making his life completely miserable. I don't know what his problem is."

Jade snorted. "I don't care what his problem is. As far as I'm concerned, he can keep his homophobic bullshit away from _all_ of us," she angrily stressed, throwing a meaningful glance at Tori. She didn't want that piece of shit anywhere near her baby, no matter how long she'd known him.

Tori nodded her agreement, catching on to Jade's meaning. Unless he got his shit together and pulled his head out of his ass, Andre wasn't the kind of influence that should be around her and Jade's baby.

"Well, I'm happy for you two," Robbie said with a smile, running a hand through his hair. "Hopefully, Andre will come around and realize that he's being ridiculous about this whole thing."

The others murmured their agreement before they continued eating, all silently agreed to finish lunch as usual and just forget about Andre until he was ready to talk to them like a sane person. Once they'd all finished lunch and the bell rang, they made their way to Sikowitz's classroom together, grabbing four seats in the front row where they usually sat.

Sikowitz clambered through the window just after they arrived. He brushed himself off and grabbed a coconut from his bag, sipping from the straw already inserted into it. As he sucked happily on the tropical beverage, his focus zeroed in on Jade and Tori, who were nonchalantly holding hands as they sat next to each other. "Aha!"

Jade raised an eyebrow at the man's sudden outburst and the way that he was staring intently in the group's direction. He may have been her favorite teacher, but he was definitely a bit eccentric.

"I knew it! I knew you two would get together!" he exclaimed happily, just before the office receptionist came through the door and handed him a note, leaning up to speak discreetly into his ear. "Ah, yes, of course," he said as the woman left the room, absentmindedly sucking on his coconut as he read the small piece of paper.

Tori chuckled at her teacher's antics. The man was a little crazy, but he was a great acting teacher. Her laugh died out, however, when she caught sight of Beck entering the classroom.

The boy had really slid downhill ever since he started drinking. His formerly fluffy hair was looking more unkempt than ever and the dark circles under his eyes just made it all the clearer how hungover he was. The girls at Hollywood Arts didn't even bother with him anymore – he was stuck with whatever Northridge slut was closest to him at whatever party he stumbled into first each night.

"Good Gandhi!"

Sikowitz's sudden exclamation reclaimed Tori's attention and she watched curiously as the man whipped back around to stare at her and Jade with rapt attention. At first, she was confused before she realized just what that note would have said. She ran a hand through her hair, catching Jade's attention with the move.

She leaned over to whisper in her girlfriend's ear. "I'm pretty sure that note was Helen's way of letting Sikowitz in on our situation with your pregnancy," she murmured, and Jade hummed in acknowledgment. The two straightened back up as the bell rang to signal the start of class and Sikowitz cleared his throat to get the class's attention, having recovered from his shock.

"All right, pupils!" He clapped his hands together in excitement. "Today is the day! I'm going to pair you up for your senior project!"

The class groaned when they heard that Sikowitz would be the one pairing them up – all of the shruggers were disappointed because the man always paired Tori and Jade, the two top scoring students in the class, together.

"Yes, yes, whine, whine. So, let's get down to it! The pairs will be: Cat and Robbie, Ethan and Jessica, Beck and Melanie, Austin and Marissa, Isabella and Rosalie, Andre and… Wait," Sikowitz said suspiciously. "Where's Andre?"

The shruggers all looked around before they shrugged their shoulders. Jade, Tori, Cat, and Robbie all just looked away and frowned, so Sikowitz took the hint and went on.

"Ahem, as I was saying, Andre and Justin, and Tori and Jade," he finished. "Now, for this project, each pair will have to write a one act play based on the prompt that they are given. You will then have to rehearse and perform your one act play during the last week of school, in place of a final examination for this class," he explained, as he pulled out a box full of folded over index cards.

He walked around the room and had each pair pick a card. Once everyone had a prompt, he hopped back onto the stage. "Now, I'm giving you all today to start figuring out how you want to get the project done. Class dismissed!" he said with a happy smile.

"But my partner isn't even here," a shrugger named Justin complained.

Sikowitz just started laughing manically before suddenly calming down. "Dismissed!" he repeated, and the boy reluctantly followed the rest of the class out. "Wait! Jade and Tori, stay!" he commanded, as the girls walked toward the door. He sat on the edge of the stage with an expectant look on his face.

The two returned to the front of the room and dropped into the seats in front of their often-manic teacher. "What's up, Sikowitz?" Jade asked casually.

"I heard that congratulations are in order," he said, taking on a more serious tone than was typical for him. "I know this is probably not what either of you had planned for this time of your life, but I'm sure that the two of you will make excellent parents together." He smiled at the two, who were a couple of his favorite students.

Tori smiled in return. "Thanks, Sikowitz, that means a lot coming from you," she said. Her own father had never taken much interest in her life, and now that she was older, she really wasn't interested in making any attempt to include the man in her life. So it meant a lot to her to have the approval of a man that she respected.

"So, when's the big day?" Sikowitz asked happily. Despite not being a father himself, he was an uncle several times over and enjoyed spending time with his siblings' children, though most of them were nearly fully grown by that point.

Jade chuckled in amusement. "We don't know yet. We should find out on Wednesday – that's when I have my first appointment," she informed him, a small smile forming on her face. She hadn't thought about it before, but she was actually a bit excited to find out when her baby would be born.

"Ah, I see. Well, please don't hesitate to come to me if the two of you need anything," he offered. "Now, about your senior project: what prompt did the two of you draw?"

"One that's probably not going to work out, since we'll have to perform it the last week of May," Jade said wryly.

"You and your partner are fitness trainers in conflict due to a long rivalry. You should include plot twists of your own invention, but you must include a stage fighting scene," Tori quoted from their card, having pulled it out of her bag.

"That definitely won't work," Sikowitz agreed, reaching out and taking the card. He pulled a pen from his pocket and wrote on the opposite side of the card, which was still blank. "You and your partner are a married couple expecting their first child, however you are fighting because you are both keeping a secret from the other," Sikowitz read aloud as he wrote on the card before handing it back to Tori.

"So, Tori, you're obviously playing the pregnant wife," Jade said sarcastically, smirking at her girlfriend, who just rolled her eyes playfully. There was no way the original prompt could have worked, considering that she would definitely be showing by late May and probably not in the best of shape to do a stage fight.

"Thanks, Sikowitz," Tori said, tucking the card safely into her bag once more. She was glad the man had kept her and Jade back, as the two would have had to get him to switch their prompt anyway. Even if Jade could do the fight scene, it didn't make sense to take the risk that something might go wrong and she or the baby could be hurt.

"It's my pleasure, Toro," he responded cheerfully. "Now, the two of you are free to go. I've got to find a new coconut supplier. The one I've got now refuses to sell to me anymore," he said mysteriously, clapping his hands together before he snatched up his bag and crawled out the window he entered from.

Tori shook her head. "I love Sikowitz, but he's a little weird," she laughed, earning a raised eyebrow from Jade, who declined to comment on the obviousness of that statement. "So, do you want to work on our project?" she asked reluctantly.

Jade was about to respond when she felt her stomach growl. "That's weird. I'm hungry," she added, answering the question in Tori's eyes. "We just ate lunch," she said in confusion.

"Yeah, but all you had was a small salad," Tori pointed out. "You told your mom that we'd been sleeping together for seven weeks. I'm guess that's because you know when the baby was conceived and that time frame fits," she guessed. "So, how far along are you?" she questioned.

Jade grimaced and nodded. "The baby was conceived six weeks ago today," she replied as she placed a hand over her stomach, deliberately avoiding using Beck's name. "Why, what does that have to do with me being hungry?" she asked curiously.

"Around this time is when most women start noticing that they have a larger appetite or start having some cravings," Tori replied with a shrug.

Jade looked at her girlfriend with furrowed brows. "How do you know so much about all of this? What, do you already have a kid out there somewhere?" she joked, though she then frowned when she considered that it wasn't impossible, but she relaxed when Tori laughed.

"No, this little one will be my first. I just spent a lot of time in hospitals when I was growing up – they ran tests on me frequently and I would get bored a lot, so I tended to wander around. I just kind of picked up on some things," she said.

Jade hummed in response. "I really want a taco from that place a few blocks away," she mused.

"So, let's go get you one. We have study hall next period anyway," Tori pointed out.

"I do really want that taco," Jade said to herself. "Take me?" she asked as she grabbed her bag and started walking toward the door, glancing back over her shoulder to see Tori nod in agreement.

As they exited the building and walked toward Tori's car, they noticed the conspicuous absence of Andre's car, but neither commented. When they climbed in Tori's Camaro and the girl started it up, music began streaming out of the speakers and Jade looked at Tori with an impressed look on her face.

"You listen to Joan Jett and the Blackhearts? How did I not notice this before?" she wondered aloud.

"Yeah, I love them, they're phenomenal," Tori praised. "I don't know, I tend to skip around as far as what I listen to, so I guess you just never happened to be around when I would listen to them."

Jade nodded her head in time with the beat, turning a bit in her seat to look out the window as Tori drove the two of them to the little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. She yawned as she watched the building pass by outside the window, but she looked back toward Tori when she felt the other girl reach out and gently take her hand.

Neither acknowledged the contact, but both were happy to have it. After the way things had gone down with Andre at lunch, they both needed the small gesture of comfort. Still, even with Andre's bizarre hatred of their relationship, they were both starting to think they could really make things work.

 _You're in trouble now, Vega. I don't think I'm going to want to let you go, if you change your mind about things,_ Jade thought with a mixture of amusement and slight worry that maybe Tori would get tired of her or change her mind about tying herself down to Jade and her baby. But then she looked over at the girl in question, who was singing softly along to the music with an easy smile on her face, and she couldn't stop the corresponding smile that formed on her lips.

Of course, then some bright pop song came through the speakers and she grimaced. "NO!" She pulled her hand from Tori's and placed her palms over her ears, while Tori just laughed and reached for her PearPod to change the song playing.

 _Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Vega gave up on me,_ Jade thought wryly, chuckling to herself and shoving the doubt to the back of her mind.

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: Hello again, girls and guys! I just want to quickly thank everyone who has been reviewing the chapters – it means a lot to me to hear you guys' thoughts and comments on how the story has developed so far. So, please continue to let me know what you think, what you like, what you don't like – I love hearing it all!**

 **So, Andre had a bit of a meltdown this chapter. I just thought it'd be interesting to see him in a new light, despite the fact that I love Andre's character on the show, and I've definitely got some more tricks up my sleeve as far as that whole situation.**

 **Also, an important thing to note is that I've gone through and edited the chapters just slightly – I've included a date/date range at the top of each chapter, denoting on what day(s) that chapter takes place and how many weeks pregnant Jade is, as you may have noticed at the top of this chapter. I just thought that would make it easier, both for you and me, to have a quick reference of how much time has passed, how far along Jade is, etc.**

 **So, anyway, let me know what you guys think of the chapter, if there's anything you'd like to see in future chapters, etc.**

 **Thanks again for reading, everyone!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**


	7. Raise the Flag

**Pretending to Fake True Love**

 **Chapter Seven: Raise the Flag**

 **February 15, 2017 – Six-and-a-Half Weeks Pregnant**

Tori stretched tiredly as she stepped out of her car. The previous day, she'd offered to pick Jade up for school, so that they could just take her car to the appointment after they left school for the day. She absentmindedly locked the car as she walked up the porch stairs and knocked on the door.

Only a moment passed before the door swung open to reveal Jade's mom. "Tori, come on in," she said with a smile. "Jade's still getting ready, but you're welcome to join her father and I in the kitchen."

Tori returned the woman's smile as she followed her into the West family's kitchen and took the offered place at the table. "Good morning, Mr. West," she said respectfully. After her conversation with the man on Sunday, she was going to be sure she was on her absolute best behavior around him until he warmed up to her a bit.

He nodded in greeting. "Good morning, Tori. You're going to be taking Jade to school and driving her to her doctor's appointment this afternoon?" Zachary questioned as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Yes, sir, I offered to drive her so that we didn't have to take two cars to the appointment," Tori responded, relaxing a bit at the man's cordial demeanor. She hadn't even realized just how tense she was until she felt the tension leave her shoulders.

Zachary nodded slowly. He was glad to hear that Tori had thought to do that for Jade when she didn't have to. He was still trying to reserve judgment, not wanting to actually like the person that got his little girl pregnant, but he could already tell that he was likely fighting a losing battle.

He glanced at his wife before acting on a sudden impulse. "Would you like to join our family for dinner tonight, Tori? We'd like to get to know you better, and we can discuss the baby a little more."

Tori blinked in surprise. "I'd love to join you for dinner, thank you, sir," she said, as a smile formed on her face and the man nodded in return. She hadn't been expecting that, but she was glad that he was giving her a chance to prove herself to him.

Jaina smiled at her daughter's girlfriend after the teen had accepted her husband's offer. "Would you like a cup of coffee, Tori?" she offered.

Tori grimaced, glancing wistfully at the pot of hot coffee sitting on a coaster on the table. "No, thank you," she said reluctantly. When she looked back at the couple sitting across from her, she smiled wryly. "I'm only drinking one cup a day until Jade has the baby and can drink coffee regularly again," she explained.

Zachary chuckled ruefully, immediately catching on to the fact that his daughter was the one responsible for that little change. "You're lucky, Tori. Jaina made me gain weight with her while she was pregnant with Jade. By the time she gave birth, I'd gained thirty pounds," he revealed, placing a hand over his toned abdomen, while Jaina smiled fondly at her husband.

"That was one of Jade's arguments on Monday was that most women make their partner gain weight with them," Tori laughed. "So, as much as I love coffee, this seems like a better deal," she said honestly.

"What? Are you trying to say you wouldn't gain weight for me, Vega?" Jade's voice drew the trio's attention to her as she entered the room with one eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face.

Tori laughed quietly. "No, just that I'd prefer not to," she said teasingly, standing and pushing her chair back in. "Are you ready to go?"

Jade nodded in response. "I'll see you later, Dad, and we'll meet you at the doctor's office, Mom," she told her parents.

"I'll see you this afternoon, sweetheart," Zachary said, smiling at his daughter.

Jaina stood and went over to give her girl a hug. "1:30, right baby?" she asked. "Alright, I'll see you there, girls. Have a nice day at school," she said after Jade hummed in agreement, walking the two teens to the door and waving as they left the house.

Tori walked over and opened the passenger door for Jade, who looked away to hide the slight blush that rose in her cheeks. She didn't move quick enough, though, and Tori saw. She chose to keep quiet, however, simply making a mental note that the gesture was appreciated.

Once the two were on the road and heading toward the school, Jade glanced at Tori when they passed by the road that led to Andre's house. She could tell that the other girl had noticed where they were, as she had a small frown on her face and her eyes were narrowed in irritation. She was proven correct when Tori spoke up a moment later.

"I can't believe Andre's been such an asshole about us being together," she muttered. "You've known Andre since middle school, right? Has he ever acted like this before? I never pegged him as homophobic," Tori said, grimacing at the thought of her usually happy-go-lucky friend – ex-friend?

Jade shook her head. "No, but now that I think about it, he kind of went out of his way to avoid any of the gay or lesbian students at Hollywood Arts," she mused, frowning as she thought back on the way the boy seemed to tense up if any of the non-hetero students so much as passed him in the hall.

Tori sighed and ran a hand through her hair when they stopped at a red light. "I guess you can't really know how someone will react until you actually see them in a situation like this," she shrugged. "Are you sure you're not upset that he destroyed your locker door?" she questioned, glancing at her girlfriend.

Jade snorted, rolling her eyes as she thought of the scene from the previous day.

 _Flashback_

 _When she and Tori entered the school and walked toward her locker, they instantly noticed that there was a crowd of angry students crowded in the center of the hallway. When they pushed their way through the crowd, they found a couple of guys holding down Andre, who was fighting to get free._

" _What's going on here?" Tori demanded, glaring down at the boy struggling under the two guys, whom she recognized as Jason and Derek from her and Jade's rock vocals class._

 _One of the boys, Jason, answered her before Andre could say a word. "This asshole destroyed yours and Jade's locker doors."_

 _Tori's eyes widened and she automatically glanced toward her locker and then toward Jade's. Both were barely staying shut. It looked like someone had taken a chainsaw to each of the doors until they were utterly unrecognizable, but the cherry on top was the bright red spray paint that spelled out the word "dyke" on both doors._

" _He might have gotten away with it if he hadn't decided to brag about it to himself out loud so that everyone could hear it. When he realized that we heard him, he tried to run away, but we grabbed him," Derek added, glaring down at the struggling boy, who didn't bother trying to deny his actions, choosing instead to glare at the ceiling resentfully._

 _Tori and Jade exchanged a glance, both silently asking the other what on earth was wrong with their now former friend._

 _End Flashback_

"It just means I get to make an even better one without having to pay for the materials myself, since the school is making Andre pay. Even better, he's suspended for two weeks, so we won't even have to deal with him," Jade said with satisfaction.

"That's true. I was thinking of changing mine up anyway. I'm just not sure what I want to do with it yet," Tori said thoughtfully. She'd given it some thought the previous night but couldn't come up with anything that really struck her as being exactly what she wanted.

Jade hummed in acknowledgment as they pulled into the school's parking lot. "So, we still on for the plan?" she questioned mischievously.

Tori smirked. "Absolutely," she said as they got out of the car. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces," she added, as she opened the door for Jade and followed her into the school.

They exchanged a sly glance before walking toward their first period class, but Tori frowned when she noticed Jade grimace slightly and shift her shoulders a bit, as if she was uncomfortable. They entered the classroom before she could say anything and when she looked back at her, Jade seemed fine, so she let it go.

It wasn't until they were in the middle of their second period rock vocals class that Tori caught Jade with that same little grimace on her lips, as she fidgeted slightly in her seat. When the other girl didn't relax after a moment, Tori texted the goth to meet her in the janitor's closet before discreetly approaching her teacher.

"Mrs. Stone, Jade and I need to leave the room for a few minutes, please. She isn't feeling well and I'd like to get her some water and check on her," she murmured to the older woman. All of her and Jade's teachers were aware of the pregnancy, so she knew the woman would understand what she was talking about.

Mrs. Stone looked over to where Jade was sitting and she frowned a bit when she saw the flicker of discomfort in her eyes. "Of course, Tori, thank you for letting me know. Take however long you need," she said understandingly, and Tori smiled gratefully before she and Jade quietly left the room together.

Tori walked close by Jade's side, but she didn't speak until they were safely in the janitor's closet and they were sure they were alone – she didn't want to risk anyone overhearing and finding out about the pregnancy before Jade was ready for everyone to know.

"What's wrong, Jade?" Tori asked concernedly. "I noticed that you seemed uncomfortable just before first period and then again a few minutes ago."

Jade grimaced. She'd hoped Tori wouldn't notice because she wasn't quite sure how to tell her what was wrong. "I'm fine, Tori. Let's just go back to class," she attempted to deflect, but Tori reached out and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Jade, please talk to me. You can tell me anything. I'm here for you," Tori said softly. When she noticed Jade wince when her shirt shifted a bit, she began to suspect she knew what the problem was.

Jade sighed, feeling her eyes grow a bit wet. _Damn hormones._ "It's my breasts," she muttered reluctantly. "They've just been so fucking tender ever since last night. I don't know what the hell's going on, and it's making me crazy," she said, feeling irritated and upset by the uncomfortable sensation and refusing to look Tori in the eye. "And to top it off, my favorite bra doesn't fit me right anymore."

Tori's eyes softened in sympathy as she looked at the tears that Jade was holding back. She carefully held Jade's shoulders and rubbed them with her thumbs. "I'm sorry you have to go through that. I wish that I could carry the baby for you so you didn't have to deal with all of the symptoms that come along with pregnancy," she said honestly.

Jade looked into Tori's eyes, blinking back her tears successfully. "So, do you know what's going on with this?" she questioned, gesturing to her boobs and smiling a bit when Tori automatically glanced at her girls.

"Most women experience a lot of tenderness in their breasts during their first trimester because their boobs are growing so quickly to accommodate the milk that will come later on, closer to when you have the baby," Tori explained, resisting taking another glance at Jade's breasts. _This isn't the time or the place. Jade is upset and sore, and the last thing she needs is you ogling her,_ she scolded herself, taking a deep breath.

Jade groaned. "The first trimester?" she repeated. "How much longer until I'm through that?" she asked in exasperation, fidgeting uncomfortably. Even if her breasts weren't so damn tender, she'd be uncomfortable – her boobs were spilling over the cups of her bra a bit. Her other bras were slightly looser on her before, so she hadn't noticed the growth in her chest until earlier that morning when she'd put her favorite bra on and realized that it was so damn tight. Unfortunately, it was the only one clean, so she was stuck with it.

Tori smiled apologetically. "The first trimester covers the first twelve full weeks of pregnancy, and then the second trimester starts at the beginning of the thirteenth week. So, you've probably got about six-and-a-half weeks left," she told her, reaching down to hold one of Jade's hands in an attempt to comfort her. "But I think I remember hearing that maternity bras help a bit with that tenderness. I'm sure the doctor can tell us if there's anything we can do to make you more comfortable," she said, squeezing Jade's hand.

"At least the appointment's today, then," Jade muttered. "Would you mind taking me shopping afterward?" she asked slowly. She felt a bit self-conscious about asking her girlfriend to go bra shopping with her when they'd never even had sex, but she trusted Tori to make the experience comfortable for her, rather than awkward.

"I'd be happy to," Tori said truthfully. "Anything I can do to make things easier for you. Besides, I enjoy spending time with you, and I want to get to know you better as your girlfriend, rather than as a friend, the way things were before," she added with a smile.

Jade smiled. "I'd like that." She rubbed the back of Tori's hand with her thumb. "I guess we should get back to class now," she said reluctantly, and Tori nodded. She didn't let go of the Latina's hand, instead pulling her girlfriend out of the janitor's closet and down the hall to their second period class.

As the two slipped into the room, their teacher looked at Jade with a slightly concerned look on her face, so Tori gave her a small smile to reassure her that things were fine. They made it through the rest of the period and their next class without Jade experiencing much discomfort, much to their mutual relief, before they headed outside for lunch.

For the most part, things progressed as per usual with the diminished group – until it was time for Tori and Jade to put their plan into action. They exchanged a wicked smirk when Robbie and Cat were both distracted. When the two teens looked back toward the new couple, they did a double-take.

Tori and Jade were locking lips so tightly that it was hard for both Robbie and Cat to tell where one ended and the other began. Tori's hands were firmly gripping Jade's waist, and Cat squeaked in genuine surprise when Jade suddenly moved from her seat at the table to straddle Tori's thighs. When Tori's hands slid down to grasp Jade's naturally curvy hips and she leaned forward to press the goth up against the table, Robbie actually had to look away. As much as he loved Cat, he was still just a teenage boy – and seeing his two incredibly hot female friends making out in front of him was too much for his less-than-stellar self-control.

As they were putting on their little show for their friends, Jade sneakily ran a finger firmly down the center of Tori's back, while simultaneously grabbing gently at the hair on the nape of her neck. She just wanted the other girl to jump a little, maybe get a little moan out of her. What she didn't expect was for Tori's hands to tighten on her hips and to feel a bulge pressing up against her cloth-covered center.

Things suddenly felt all too real, and Jade couldn't stop herself from letting a quiet moan out into Tori's mouth. Tori responded by biting gently at Jade's bottom lip, by that point having practically forgotten that they weren't supposed to be _actually_ making out, that they were just supposed to put on enough of a show for their friends to believe they were skipping school to get a room somewhere.

For her part, Jade didn't even really care anymore. All that mattered was Tori's tongue twisting with hers and Tori's hands massaging her sides and Tori's hard shaft attempting to break free of their clothing and pressing up against her. The way that Tori was kissing her with so much desire was enough to make her wonder why she ever thought that Beck was such a great kisser – the boy was good but he was nowhere near the Latina's level.

Fortunately for everyone involved, Sinjin chose that moment to interrupt, standing creepily close to the couple, who by that point once more had all attention on them as the rest of the student body stared unabashedly at the extreme PDA. "Jade, Tori, would you mind starting over from the beginning? I missed the first two minutes because I had to run and get my good video camera from my locker," the boy said creepily, causing the pair to finally separate.

Despite the fact that she was practically gasping for air, Jade found the breath to threaten Sinjin. "If you ever record Vega and I doing anything, I will take the camera and shove it somewhere a camera should never be!" she shouted from where she still sat on Tori's lap, causing the creepy boy to nod frantically and run away while the other students wisely turned back to their lunches. Realizing that she was still straddling the tan girl, Jade started to move but Tori's grip on her waist tightened and she looked at the other girl questioningly.

Tori leaned in to murmur in Jade's ear. "Unless you want me to be outed today and waste time trying to explain and end up missing your appointment, then you really shouldn't move," she told her, her voice slightly rougher than normal. She took deep breaths as she willed herself to calm down enough for her cock to stop straining at the fabric of her pants.

Jade blinked in confusion before she unthinkingly shifted her hips forward a bit and was instantly reminded of the hard bulge of Tori's dick rubbing between her thighs. She swallowed back a small moan as she felt her pussy dampen a bit more, and she heard Tori's sudden intake of breath as the other girl pulled her head back from Jade's ear, her jaw slightly clenched.

Robbie finally got the nerve to look back across the table at the couple, who were staring at each other intensely. He cleared his throat and both their heads whipped around to face him. "Maybe you two should take the rest of the day off, you know, so you can be alone," he suggested. "I'm pretty sure Helen might suspend you if you have sex on school property, much less out here in the Asphalt Café for everyone to see," he pointed out, chuckling a bit when Jade didn't automatically bite his head off.

Jade looked into Tori's eyes while making sure that she didn't move anymore and make the situation worse. Suddenly, she had an idea and she carefully leaned in to whisper in Tori's ear. "Follow my lead," she instructed, before she leaned back with an arrogant smirk on her face. "Shapiro's right, Vega, let's get out of here. Carry me!" she commanded, watching as realization flickered across the Latina's face.

Tori grinned and did as Jade demanded, catching on to her plan. She stood up, carefully holding Jade in place so that her body covered Tori's crotch from sight. Unfortunately, the shift in position made Jade's center rub against Tori's again and both had to force themselves to act casual despite their arousal.

She swiftly began walking away from the table as Jade held tightly to her shoulders, absentmindedly tossing a goodbye over her shoulder to Robbie and Cat. She wove between the tables and made a beeline for the parking lot, silently thanking her lucky stars that both of their bags had already been stashed in her Camaro.

Jade, for her part, tried not to move as much as possible, but the simple motion of Tori walking had her biting her lip with every little bump that rocked the pair's hips. She was extremely thankful when they reached the privacy of Tori's car and she was carefully deposited onto the passenger seat.

She took shallow breaths as Tori rushed around the front of the car and swiftly climbed into the driver's seat. Jade swallowed and then started taking deeper breaths to calm herself down, which seemed to work after a few minutes. However, when she looked over at Tori, she could tell that the other girl was having a harder time reigning herself in, as was made evident by the still-prominent tent in her pants.

"Are you okay, Tori?" she asked, raising her eyebrow a bit when she saw just how flushed the other girl appeared.

Tori grimaced but nodded. "Just give me a minute," she requested, refusing to open her eyes and look at the girl sitting in the seat next to her. That would only make matters worse. Usually, she had better control of herself, but it had been about three months since the last time she'd had sex, and she hadn't even gotten herself off for the past couple weeks because she'd been spending most of her free time arguing with herself about whether or not to let Jade know how she felt, so she was a bit on edge.

She forced herself to take measured breaths and began counting backward from one-hundred. By the time she reached one, she was happy to notice that her shaft had submitted and returned to its resting position against her thigh. She cleared her throat. "Sorry," she said, looking over toward Jade. "I'm fine now," she added, as she started the car and began the drive to the nearby clinic where Jade's appointment would take place.

Jade watched the Latina with interest. "Is it always that hard for you to take down the flag after it's been raised?" she quipped, although her voice betrayed her genuine curiosity. Beck being the only guy she'd ever been with, she wasn't exactly a fountain of sexual knowledge, and she wasn't afraid to ask questions to get the answers she wanted.

Tori chuckled. "Not usually, no. I guess you could say I'm just a little frustrated recently." She glanced over at Jade and caught the expectant look on her face. "I haven't had sex in three months and I haven't really had the time to salute my flag for a couple weeks," she elaborated with a laugh, using Jade's flag metaphor to get her point across.

Jade hummed in acknowledgment as Tori pulled into the clinic parking lot. "Maybe you should take care of that tonight, then," she suggested before smirking wickedly and continuing, "because I'd hate to accidentally rile you up at school," she said teasingly, despite both of them knowing that she wouldn't do that to Tori before her secret was already out to the rest of the school.

Tori played along. "I guess I will then," she said petulantly, pouting just a bit.

She then chuckled and took her seatbelt off, preparing to get out of the car. She paused, though, when she realized that Jade wasn't moving. She looked over at her to find that the girl had frozen and was staring at the entrance to the prestigious-looking clinic.

"Jade? Hey, what's the matter?" she asked softly, reaching over to gently turn Jade's head toward her.

Jade blinked and snapped out of her frozen state. "I…" she hesitated, trying to communicate to Tori with her eyes what she feeling.

"Are you nervous?" Tori guessed, knowing she hit the nail on the head when Jade grimaced and looked away. "Hey, everything's gonna be fine. I'll be right here with you, and so will your mom. Plus, we'll get to see the baby for the first time when the doctor does the ultrasound," she reminded the goth, smiling softly at her.

Jade just looked out the window for a moment before she sighed and nodded her head. "You're right. Let's get this over with," she said with determination, glancing down toward her stomach and smiling a bit herself. She looked back at Tori. "Let's go meet our baby."

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: Another chapter down, girls and guys, and this one is slightly longer than the typical chapter, too! This is actually not at all where I planned to go with this chapter but this is where it ended up, so I hope you guys enjoyed! Next chapter: Jade's first prenatal appointment. As always, thank you ever so much for reading and reviewing, everyone! And, of course, I'd love to have your input on the chapter and any ideas for future chapters! I really enjoy writing this story and having you guys' input just makes things easier and more enjoyable for me, so thank you to those of who have left comments or even just a quick note letting me know you like the story. If you've reviewed before, I hope to hear from you again! If you haven't, feel free to drop me a line with any thoughts, constructive criticisms, etc. Thanks again for reading, everyone!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**


	8. First Appointment

**Pretending to Fake True Love**

 **Chapter Eight: First Appointment**

 **February 15, 2017 – Six-and-a-Half Weeks Pregnant**

When Tori and Jade entered the building, Jade's mother stood from her seat and greeted them with a smile. "I've already gotten you checked in, so they should call you back in just a moment," Jaina said, placing a quick kiss on the side of her daughter's head.

As if her words had summoned her, the large wooden door at the back of the room swung open and a young nurse entered. "Jade West," she called with a smile. "Dr. Green is ready for you now," she said, holding the door open for the trio.

Jaina led the way, while the two teenagers followed, Jade discreetly slipping her hand into Tori's to help soothe her remaining nervousness. They walked a short way down the hall before stopping in front of a scale, where Jade had to slide her boots off and let the nurse note down her weight.

"Alright, now you can follow me into the exam room and Dr. Green will take over," the nurse said cheerfully as Jade pulled her boots back on. She led them just a bit further down the hall until they reached an open door and she motioned for them to enter.

Inside was a woman who appeared to be in her early forties, with a welcoming smile on her face. "Thank you, Jessica," she dismissed the nurse before she turned to the trio of women. "Jaina, nice to see you again. Hello, Jade, I'm Dr. Green, but you can call me Isabella," she said nicely, holding out her hand for Jade to shake.

Jade smiled at the woman as she shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Isabella," she said politely. Her mom had mentioned the woman before and seemed to like her well enough, so she figured that was the best recommendation she could ask for.

Dr. Green then turned to the other young woman with the two West women. "Hello, are you a friend of Jade's?" she questioned, reaching to shake the other teenager's hand, with a curious glint in her eyes. It was unusual for anyone but the spouse or significant other of her patient – or in the case of minors, a parent – to attend prenatal appointments, which led her to deduce that this young woman must be Jade's partner.

"Actually, this is Tori, my girlfriend. She's also the one who got me pregnant," Jade explained, putting the information out there. She was sure it would come up at some point and the woman was a doctor, so she saw no reason to tiptoe around it.

Isabella's eyes lit with understanding. "Ah, so you're intersexual, Tori?" she asked, and Tori nodded in confirmation. "Well, it's very nice to meet you. I'll just make a note of that in my file then, as there is a small chance that the baby could be intersexual as well," she said, making a quick note using the PearPad she'd left open on the small table in the room. After she'd done that, the woman looked back up to her patient. "Jade, if you would, go ahead and take a seat on the exam table, and we'll get started," she said with a smile.

Jade took her seat but refused to let go of Tori's hand, so the Latina remained standing, leaning lightly against the exam table. Jaina saw this and smiled softly at the two. She could tell that Jade was nervous, and she was glad that she obviously felt comfortable seeking comfort from Tori, who seemed happy to provide her daughter with that support. She really couldn't ask more than that – that caring and support – from the tanned teenager.

"Okay, first things first, do you have any idea how far along you are, Jade?" Dr. Green questioned.

"No, I just know that I must be more than a few weeks because I didn't get my period this month, and I've started having some pregnancy symptoms," Jade responded, lying smoothly about her lack of knowledge, to cover for herself.

"Alright, in that case, I think we'll start with an ultrasound to determine how far along you are and your due date. Go ahead and lay back, while I fire up the machine," Isabella instructed, powering up the machine and waiting for Jade to get comfortable. "Now, I'll need you to pull your shirt up a bit for me, so that I can rub the ultrasound gel on your belly."

Jade did as the doctor instructed, pulling her shirt up to just below her breasts and revealing her flat stomach – which was actually slightly flatter than usual, due to the fact that she'd lost five pounds in the last six weeks because of morning sickness – and she smirked when she caught Tori's eyes follow the movement and flicker downward to steal a glance at her abdomen. She squeezed the other girl's hand, grabbing her attention and smirking when the Latina gave her an innocent look.

When the doctor started to spread the cold gel on her stomach, Jade tensed a bit from the new sensation, and Jaina chuckled quietly. "You'll get used to it," she told her daughter, remembering the strange feeling of the gel being spread on her belly when she was pregnant with Jade.

"Okay, are you ready to meet your baby for the first time?" Isabella asked the young parents-to-be, who exchanged a glance before nodding. After receiving confirmation, she took the wand and began waving it gently over the teen's belly, watching the monitor and waiting until she could get a good look before she turned the screen to face the anxiously waiting young women.

"And there he or she is," Isabella said with a smile. "It looks like you're right on six weeks, Jade, so I'd say your due date should be around September 27th. Congratulations, you two," she added quietly, not wanting to intrude on the moment between the two.

Jade's hand clenched tightly around Tori's when she saw the image on the monitor. She felt her eyes well up with tears, but she didn't do anything to stop them. She couldn't pull her eyes away from that beautiful image of her baby, that little human being growing inside of her. Despite not having planned for her baby to be conceived, she couldn't bring herself to feel any regret after seeing that little miracle for the first time. She wanted to look at Tori to see her reaction to their little boy or girl, but she was frozen in place.

For her part, Tori was hardly any better. She couldn't believe how affected she could be by an image on a screen, but she felt so overjoyed at the sight of her and Jade's baby that she almost didn't know what to do with herself. When she tore her eyes away from the screen and looked at Jade, she felt her heart well up with affection for her girl, and she tenderly wiped away the tear that had fallen before she carefully wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders and placed a soft kiss on the side of her head.

"This is amazing. You're amazing, Jade," Tori murmured in Jade's ear. As she pulled back, she felt a presence behind her and turned to see Jade's mom standing there. She moved aside respectfully to let Jaina cuddle with her daughter, looking back to the monitor and staring at the tiny human being currently residing in Jade's belly.

The rest of the appointment passed in a sort of blur for both teens, until they found themselves walking toward the door holding a copy of the ultrasound photo between them, staring at the little human that was roughly the size of a pomegranate seed, according to the doctor. They'd spent nearly an hour at the appointment, and they'd even had a brief moment of panic.

At first, things were fine: Jade had to have blood work done and answer some questions about what sort of symptoms she'd been experiencing. Then came the fun part: Jade had to have a complete checkup – blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and…pelvic exam and breast exam. That would have been fine, if Tori and Jade had already had sex and seen each other naked.

Fortunately, Dr. Green gave them an out when she told them that most women kicked their partners out of the room for the pelvic and breast exams, and they were able to capitalize on that.

Once Tori was let back into the room, things went far more smoothly. The doctor had spoken with the two of them about what to expect during the next several weeks, prescribed a prenatal vitamin for Jade to take once a day, and recommended several good types of bras to buy that would accommodate Jade's growing breasts all the way through the pregnancy and help minimize her discomfort and tenderness. She'd also recommended that the couple buy the latest edition of _What to Expect When You're Expecting_.

By the time that they walked out the door, after setting up Jade's next appointment for March 15th, they were both feeling a bit overwhelmed, and Jaina could see it just by the slightly stunned looks on their faces as she walked with the two to Tori's car. "So, are the two of you going straight to the house or did you have other plans?" she asked, snapping the two out of their daze.

Jade cleared her throat. "Tori promised to take me shopping, but we'll be at the house in time for dinner," she replied. She'd almost forgotten that Tori had told her that she'd been invited to have dinner with Jade's family.

Jaina hummed in response. "All right, sweetheart, have fun. I'll see you girls back at the house," she said with a smile, hugging Jade and nodding to Tori before she walked to her own car.

Once Jaina was gone, Tori and Jade silently climbed into the car. Tori started the Camaro and looked over at Jade with such affection in her eyes that the dark-haired beauty couldn't look away. She reached out and cradled Jade's face with one hand. "You're amazing, Jade," Tori repeated tenderly.

Jade felt her cheeks grow warm with a blush as she turned her head slightly to place a soft kiss on Tori's palm in response. She'd been close to Tori for as long as she'd known her, but she'd never felt _so_ close to her – so close to anyone – as she felt after experiencing such an incredible thing with her when they saw the baby for the first time. "Thank you, Tori," she whispered, and they both knew that she wasn't just thanking her for the compliment.

They didn't speak again until they arrived at the mall that held the store that Dr. Green had recommended, Expect the Unexpected.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Tori asked calmly, despite feeling a bit awkward as they got out of the car and started walking toward the entrance of the maternity store. She'd never actually been bra shopping with anyone before, and she didn't want to make Jade uncomfortable by being there or end up doing something stupid.

"What do you mean?" Jade answered Tori absentmindedly as she fidgeted a little. Her breasts were aching a bit again, and she was feeling pretty uncomfortable in her tight bra.

"Would you like me to help you pick things out or would you prefer it if I just waited by the door?" she asked, frowning when she realized that Jade's breasts were bothering her again. Despite the fact that she wasn't actually the one who got Jade pregnant, she felt strangely guilty that Jade had to deal with that discomfort.

Jade stopped in her tracks, causing Tori to stop and look at her with concern. _Do I want Tori to help me pick out bras – maternity bras?_ She frowned as she tried to make up her mind. _She's going to see me in them eventually, anyway, if all goes well,_ she mused. "I'd like it if you helped me pick some out," she said honestly. _Fuck it, I'm Jade fucking West. This is no big deal._

As it turned out, it was actually a very big deal, although not due to Tori being there or helping out. The two girls were stunned and slightly dismayed by the variety of styles and types of bras to choose from that all fit the recommendations that Isabella had given them at Jade's appointment. They spent the first ten minutes trying to figure out what was different about all of them and which ones would be better than the rest.

Luckily, a salesgirl caught sight of the struggling couple and came up to them as they were looking at each other with helpless looks on their faces. "I know, there's a lot to choose from. If I didn't work here, I would have had the same problem when I did my own shopping recently," she said sympathetically, placing a hand on her own gently rounded belly. "Anyway, hi, I'm Gina. Would you two like some help?" she offered.

Jade grimaced inwardly. She hated asking people for help, but she had to admit that neither her nor Tori were exactly equipped to figure the maternity bra thing out. "That would be great, thank you," she admitted. "I'm Jade and this is my girlfriend, Tori."

Gina smiled at the couple. "It's nice to meet you. So, is one of you two the mommy-to-be or are we searching for someone else?" she asked.

Tori smiled back at the young woman, who couldn't be more than twenty-five. "Jade is expecting," she informed her, feeling extremely glad that the woman had come up to them. She'd had no idea what on earth to do, so she was more than happy to have the help.

"Alright, well, do you know what band and cup size you'll need, Jade?" Gina questioned the younger brunette. "If not, I can get Thalia from the back – she can measure you to find out what you need."

"I was a 34D, but judging by how uncomfortable this bra is, I'd say it's time to go up a cup size and probably a band size, too," Jade said, fidgeting a bit.

"Okay, well, why don't a pick out a few of our more popular, comfortable bras in a 36DD for you and then you can try them on," Gina suggested, setting to work when Jade agreed. "Okay, go ahead and try these four. I'll wait here and you can let me know if there's one you like more than the others. After that, I can help you pick out a few more, if you like."

Jade smiled at the woman thankfully. She was so ready to get out of the deathtrap that was straining to contain her chest. "Sounds good," she agreed, taking the pile of fabric that was offered to her. "Come on, Tori," she said, leading the way to the dressing rooms that she'd noticed when they first entered the store.

Tori followed obediently, her eyes wandering around the store as they walked. When they entered the hallway that contained the dressing rooms, Tori spotted a chair at the end of the hall. "I'll wait right here for you, okay, baby?" She blinked when the word slipped out of her mouth, but she relaxed when she caught sight of the small smile that appeared on Jade's face.

"Alright, I'll be out in a few minutes," Jade told her, going into the room just to the right of the chair Tori was sitting in.

She pulled off the unbuttoned blue-checkered flannel and the black tank top that she'd worn that day, revealing a lacy, black bra that was obviously too small. It was easy to see from how much her breasts swelled over the cup and the way the band was pinching at her sides. She grimaced unhappily at the thought of not fitting into her favorite bra anymore, but she couldn't help smirking to herself, since she knew that Tori wouldn't complain about her having larger breasts – she'd caught the girl glancing at them several times before.

She reached back to unclasp the hooks, but she frowned when she couldn't get them undone. She grunted in frustration as she struggled with the damn tiny pieces of metal. No matter how hard she tried to force them apart, they refused to cooperate, and after all of the stress of the day, she found a few tears of frustration spilling down her cheeks.

Tori's ears perked up and a frown formed on her face when she heard the sounds of quiet crying coming from the direction of the room in which Jade was changing. She immediately got to her feet and knocked quietly on the door. "Jade?" she called, and instantly the sounds of crying stopped.

Tori was about to call out to Jade again, but she didn't get the chance before the door creaked open and she caught a glimpse of Jade's tear-stained face. She carefully slipped into the room and shut the door behind her before turning to face Jade. The girl had a sad look in her eyes and a small pout on her lips.

"What's wrong, Jade?" she asked tenderly, going over to wipe away Jade's tears. She hated seeing the object of her affections so upset about something.

"I can't get the damn thing off! The stupid clasps won't come undone," Jade huffed, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. She reached back and tried again, to no avail, and she frowned deeper when she caught Tori's eyes on her swollen breasts. "Tori!" she hissed sharply, hitting the girl on the arm.

Tori raised her hands in surrender, shaking her head. "I wasn't staring, Jade. I think I figured out why you couldn't get the clasp undone," she said truthfully. She knew that it was no time for her to be leering at Jade's chest. "When you reach back, it pushes your chest further out, putting more pressure on the band – which is already being stretched because of the pressure from your breasts – and tightens it enough to where you can't undo the clasp. Actually, it's probably stuck from the pressure it's been under since you put it on this morning," she explained, taking a guess.

Jade wanted to smack herself on the forehead, but she refrained, simply letting out a small, frustrated groan. "I swear, these damn hormones are making me crazy," she muttered. She should have known that Tori wasn't that much of a, for lack of a better word, _dick_.

Tori smiled sympathetically, hesitating before she spoke up. "If you're okay with it, I can unclasp the bra for you while you hold your breasts in so that they don't press so much on the cups and stretch out the band further," she said slowly. "I promise I won't look. I'll close my eyes until you get one of the other bras on," she added, looking seriously into Jade's eyes.

Jade paused for a moment after hearing Tori's solution. She knew that she could trust Tori not to look, but… She shook her head, cutting off her own thoughts. It wasn't like Tori was asking to see her naked or something, and she _was_ her girlfriend. She let out a shaky breath before turning her back on Tori and sweeping her hair out of the way. "Okay, I'm ready," she said, gently cupping her breasts to help relieve the pressure.

Tori swallowed when the creamy expanse of Jade's back was revealed to her, but she kept focused on her task, frowning when she saw the way that the band of Jade's bra was digging slightly into the pale flesh of Jade's back. As soon as she took hold of the clasps, she shut her eyes tightly and pulled until the scraps of metal came unstuck.

Jade sighed in relief when the pressure was released. She felt Tori step back and she held her bra up until she turned around and watched Tori turn to face the wall, her eyes clenched shut. Jade smiled affectionately before she turned around and snagged one of the bras that Gina had given her to try on. The relief she felt was almost ruined when she caught sight of her breasts in the mirror and saw the angry red line that traced where the band and the cups of her bra had been straining against the flesh, but she ignored it in favor of trying out the new bra.

She slipped it on and she couldn't believe how comfortable it was – it was just so soft. She hummed at the feeling. "Okay, Tori, you can open your eyes now," she said, as she examined herself in the mirror. There was still just a little bit of room for her to grow into the DD cup, but it wasn't big enough to look or feel like it was _too_ big for her.

Tori turned and opened her eyes. She almost had to look away again when she saw Jade standing there, still without a shirt, looking so much more relaxed in the dark blue maternity bra. Her breasts were obviously better-contained within the new fabric, and they filled the bra out nicely. She'd always loved the color blue on Jade, but she decided then and there that she loved it just a bit more than before.

"You're so beautiful," she murmured, before she shook her head in consternation, looking away from Jade's body before she did anything else stupid. "I'm sorry. I'll go now," she said, moving toward the door of the small room.

Jade chuckled with amusement and stood a bit taller out of pride as Tori hastily left the room. "Thanks, babe," she said teasingly, but she really was glad for Tori's help getting out of that deathtrap.

The thought of the irritatingly uncomfortable bra made her think of something as the dressing room door swung shut with a soft click. She easily removed the navy bra and quickly tried the other three bras on. She immediately found that none of them were as comfortable as the first, but she kept on the last one she'd tried as she grabbed the dark blue bra and opened the door a bit.

"Tori," she called, getting her attention where she was once again sat on the chair. "Would you go buy this for me? I'll pay you back later. I just really don't want to have to put my old bra on again," she explained with a grimace.

Tori smiled, taking the bra from Jade. "Of course, I'll be back in just a minute," she promised, not bothering to tell Jade that she had no intention of taking a single penny from her.

She walked swiftly up to the register and checked out before going back to the dressing room to return the bra to her girlfriend. "Jade, it's me," she called as she knocked on the door.

Jade opened the door just slightly, reaching out and grabbing the bag. "Thanks, Tori," she said with a smile, before disappearing back into the room to switch into the newly paid-for bra and pull her shirt back on, finally.

Once she was done, she set the rejected bras on the rack to be returned to their proper places and exited the room, her old bra in the garbage can. Even if she could fit into it again eventually after she had the baby, the thing had been added to the ever-growing list of things she hated after all the irritation it had caused her over the course of the day.

"Hey, feel better?" Tori asked, standing and walking back into the main area of the store with Jade, who steered the two toward where Gina was sitting on a padded bench, waiting for them.

Jade hummed and nodded in response, looking at Gina as they came up to her. "I really like the dark blue one that you picked out for me. Do you think you could help me find a few more like it, please?" she asked politely, feeling rather grateful to the woman for finding her the comfortable replacement.

Gina got to her feet with a smile. "Of course, let me just grab you a few. It comes in the blue, black, and white. Which colors would you like, and how many?" she asked, walking over to the section with that held the right bras.

"No white, but I'll take three of the black and three more of the blue," Jade told her, taking the stack from the woman when she'd grabbed them off the rack for her. "Thanks for all your help," she said honestly.

"It was my pleasure. I hope I'll see you two in here again. It was nice meeting you," Gina said.

Jade and Tori responded in kind before going to pay. They had a small, silent argument when Tori refused to let Jade use her dad's credit card to pay for the bras. Jade finally gave in when she could see that, for some insane reason, it meant a lot to Tori.

"So, what was that all about?" Jade questioned as they walked toward the car, looking at her girlfriend skeptically.

Tori grimaced in embarrassment, glancing at Jade out of the corner of her eye. She was silent until she put the bag in the trunk and they both got into the car. "It makes me feel a little better to know that I can do something like that for you, provide you with something that you need. I…feel guilty that you have to go through these things – even though, logically, I know that it isn't actually because of me," she admitted, forcing herself to look the other girl in the eye.

Jade's eyes softened. She could see the genuine guilt in Tori's eyes, and she couldn't stop herself from leaning in and kissing away the other girl's frown. They kissed slowly, until Tori pulled away and looked at Jade with curiosity, silently wondering what brought that on.

"Tori, you don't have to feel guilty because of the pregnancy symptoms. Even if you really were the one to get me pregnant, it would be worth it – and it _is_ worth it, for our baby," she said, her hand on Tori's cheek. "That doesn't mean I'm not probably going to blame you in the delivery room, but… If it makes you feel better to buy stuff like this for me, then fine, but I don't want you to feel like you have to," Jade said seriously.

Tori finally cracked a smile at Jade's joke, both knowing it was probably going to come true – hell, Jade would probably be cursing her name while she was in labor. "It really does make me feel better. Besides, regardless of my feelings, it's the right thing to do. I like the idea that I can take care of you, and take care of our baby," she said, taking Jade's hand in hers.

Jade laughed lightly. "Well, I'm prepared to take you up on that offer, Vega," she said teasingly. "I'll kill you if you tell anyone I said this, but I actually like the idea of you taking care of me," she admitted, though warning Tori with her eyes that it was no idle threat.

Tori just smiled as she started the car. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," she said happily.

"Good," she said with satisfaction. "Now, home Jeeves. It's almost time for dinner with my parents," Jade said haughtily, drawing a laugh from her girlfriend.

Tori shook her head as they left the parking lot and she made her way in the direction of the West home. _I really do like taking care of you and the baby, Jade. I just hope I'm still around to do it after tonight,_ she thought wryly, with a bit of apprehension. She could only hope that Mr. West really was coming around…

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: Hey, girls and guys! Jade and Tori got to see the baby for the first time! Lots of Jori fluff in this chapter – the hormones are really getting to Jade. And poor Tori is worried about Jade's dad warming up to her – we'll see how that turns out in the next chapter.**

 **I just want to say, as always, thanks so much to everyone reading the story and to everyone who reviews. I really love reading all of your comments. They mean a lot and they really inspire me to keep the story going. So, if you've reviewed before, I hope to hear from you again. If not, I'd love it if you let me know your thoughts on the chapter and on the story so far!**

 **Thanks, everyone! 'Til next time: "I'm spiked out and I handled my business!" Brownie points to anyone who can name the character/episode that's from. See you, girls and guys!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**


	9. Family Dinner

**Pretending to Fake True Love**

 **Chapter Nine: Family Dinner**

 **February 15, 2017 – Six-and-a-Half Weeks Pregnant**

Tori took a deep breath as she pulled into the West family's driveway, and she caught Jade's amused smirk out of the corner of her eye. "You're sure he's not going to suddenly change his mind and kill me because you're pregnant, right?" she asked wryly, turning to face her girlfriend, only half-joking.

"I'd say there's a good chance you'll make it through the night," Jade teased, as a wicked smile played on her lips. "Come on, let's go inside. I'm starving," she added, placing a hand on her belly for emphasis.

At her appointment, Jade hadn't been surprised to hear that she was down to one-hundred-nineteen pounds from her usual one-hundred-twenty-four. The morning sickness had stolen a bit of the padding from around her midsection, but with the way that her appetite had started picking up a bit the past few days, she knew it was only a matter of time before she started putting on the baby weight.

"Well, I can't have my girls starving," Tori said dramatically, flashing the other girl a grin before she hopped out and moved around the front end of the car to open Jade's door for her. "Just let me grab your bag out of the trunk."

Jade smiled to herself as Tori got the shopping bag out of the trunk. The more time that she spent with Tori as her girlfriend, the more she found herself looking forward to their date on Friday. She was drawn out of her thoughts when she heard the trunk close, and she turned to lead the way into the house.

"Mom, Dad?" Jade called as the front door shut behind her. Upon hearing her mother's voice from the direction of the kitchen, she made her way there, letting out a quiet moan as the scent of her mother's homemade spaghetti and meat sauce wrapped around her.

Jaina looked up from the loaf of freshly baked bread that she was slicing, and a smile formed on her face as the teens entered the room. "Hi, girls. How was your shopping trip?" she asked curiously, before noting the large bag that Tori was still carrying. "I see you were able to find a few things that you liked."

Jade hummed in agreement. "Yeah, one of the girls at the store helped me find some bras to try on, and then I ended up getting seven of the one that I liked the best," she said, absentmindedly reaching back to grab Tori's free hand and tangle their fingers together. She then grimaced as she remembered the situation in the dressing room.

"What is it?" Jaina asked with concern, though her lips twitched a little in amusement as she saw the way that her daughter took Tori's hand without even thinking about it. It was increasingly obvious to her just how comfortable Jade was with the young Latina, something she'd never have attributed to her daughter's relationship with that fluffy-haired moron that she'd been dating before.

Jade rolled her eyes and groaned in irritation. "The clasp on the bra that I put on this morning got stuck because it's gotten so tight in the past few weeks, and Tori had to help me get it undone," she admitted, leaving out that she'd been so frustrated that she'd actually cried a little before she got Tori to help her.

"Well, I'm glad Tori was able to help with that."

All three women looked at the entrance of the kitchen when Zachary's voice rang out sarcastically. Jaina shared a glance with her daughter, both of them silently acknowledging that it was probably going to be a long night for Tori, who frowned slightly but didn't comment.

Zachary's tone softened as he addressed his daughter. "I hope you used the credit card that I gave you last night, Jade. I don't want you using your allowance for any necessities like that. Your mother and I have no problem paying for anything that you need, baby girl," he said, throwing a not-so-subtle pointed glance at Tori as the words left his mouth.

Jade frowned at her father. "I was going to use the credit card, but Tori insisted on paying, actually," she informed him pointedly, not giving him a chance to respond before she turned to look at her mom. "We're going upstairs for a minute so that I can throw my new stuff into my laundry basket, and then we'll be back down after we wash our hands."

Jaina nodded, watching as her daughter swept out of the room, her girlfriend following without a word. Once she was sure the two were out of earshot, she turned on her husband. "Damn it, Zachary, what the hell are you doing?" she asked with exasperation.

He blinked innocently. "I'm just setting the table, dear," he said smoothly, as he grabbed the plates from the cabinet and moved to place them on the table. He knew exactly what she meant, but he was Jade's father and he had to do what he had to do.

Jaina sighed, knowing how stubborn he could be when it came to him thinking he was protecting their daughter. Usually, she couldn't fault him for that, but… "Whatever you do tonight, just don't push too hard, okay? Jade isn't going to be happy with whatever interrogation you have planned, and you know that she can be short-tempered when she _isn't_ overly hormonal. I don't want you pushing her into making any rash decisions," she said warningly.

Zachary grimaced. He didn't respond as he mulled the thought over in his mind, before he steeled his resolve. He was only acting in the best interest of his little girl. He'd be careful not to take things _too_ far, but he had to be sure…

Jade grimaced as she shut her bedroom door behind Tori. "I'm sorry about him," she said, reaching out to take the bag from Tori and nimbly snap the tags from her new bras. "He's just overprotective," she added, rolling her eyes as she gathered up the pile of bras and took them into the closet, tossing them into her basket.

Tori didn't respond for a moment. Neither of her parents had ever acted the least bit protective or caring toward her, so she almost couldn't understand it. She wouldn't understand it – if her parents hadn't been that way toward Trina, their precious _normal_ , first-born child…

When she realized that she'd been quiet longer than she intended, Tori masked her distraction with a laugh before Jade could notice her sudden silence. "Don't worry about it," she said, walking over to carefully wrap her arms around Jade. "I love that he cares about you so much," she murmured truthfully. She never wanted Jade to feel like her parents didn't care about her because she knew just how much that could hurt.

Her arms snaked around Tori's waist, and Jade tucked her head into the crook of her girlfriend's neck to hide the smile that spread across her face. "Well, I'm glad you feel that way because I'm sure he's got a few tricks up his sleeve for you tonight," she muttered, placing a kiss on Tori's neck and nipping at the skin playfully before leaning back.

Tori hummed in pleasure from the sensation before smiling at the other girl when they had separated. "I'm sure, whatever he's got planned, I can handle it," she said confidently, leaning over to kiss Jade's cheek. "Now, why don't we wash our hands and head downstairs before your dad decides I must be up here taking advantage of his little girl," she said teasingly.

Jade chuckled as she pulled Tori into her bathroom, each taking a few minutes to clean up before she led the way downstairs and into the dining room just as Jaina was placing the serving dish of pasta onto the table. Her stomach growled and she deliberately ignored Tori's quiet chuckle from behind her.

"Everything looks great, Jaina," Tori complimented, reminding herself to use the woman's first name. The food smelled so good that she could hardly wait to dig in, but she forced herself to be patient as she took her seat, finding herself across from a pensive Mr. West.

"Thank you, Tori," Jaina accepted the compliment happily. "Well, let's eat, shall we?" She motioned for her daughter to fix her plate first. She could tell that Jade was hungry – her daughter and her husband were the only two people she'd ever known whose eyes got darker when they were hungry.

Zachary waited until after his family had filled their plates and Tori was fixing her own before he spoke, just as the girl set her plate back down on the table. "So, how did your appointment go this afternoon, Jade?" he asked with a smile, waiting for his opportunity to turn the conversation onto his daughter's girlfriend.

"It went fine, I guess," Jade said, looking to her mom, who nodded in encouragement. "We got to see the baby," she added with a grin, reaching into her pocket to pull out the folded-up ultrasound photo and handing it carefully to her dad.

Zachary grinned when he saw his grandchild for the first time. Despite his feelings about his little girl getting pregnant at seventeen, he couldn't deny that he was excited to meet his grandson or daughter in the next eight or nine months. "So, when are you due to have the baby?" he asked gently, handing the photo back to his daughter.

Jade's mouth happened to be full, so she nudged Tori and motioned for her to answer.

"Dr. Green said that the baby should be due around September 27th," Tori said, a smile automatically forming on her face.

Zachary looked at the young woman pensively, frowning a bit when he saw the genuine excitement on her face. "September? Tori, you mentioned to me before that you had plans to begin recording an album after graduation. I would imagine that by September you'll be finishing up the album and going out to promote it…" he said leadingly, surprised to see the knowing look that flashed in her eyes.

"It's possible, but I don't plan on leaving the immediate area at all until at least a few months after Jade has the baby," Tori said truthfully. She didn't want to miss anything, and she'd never force Jade to deal with a newborn baby all by herself, especially since it was their first child. "If necessary, I can promote the album entirely from L.A. and through radio interviews."

He frowned. That was actually a sensible plan, and he couldn't help but appreciate her dedication to being there for his daughter. "And what about after that? If Jade decides to attend college or starts auditioning for film roles, are you going to be around to support her and help take care of your baby, or are you going to be one of those parents that passes all the work off onto a nanny and whose kid grows up barely knowing who you are?" he asked condescendingly, his eyes stern.

"Zachary!" "Dad!" Jaina and Jade snapped at him simultaneously for the callousness of his question, but Tori shook her head at them.

"It's alright. He has a right to ask," Tori said grimly, meeting Mr. West's cold stare unflinchingly. "Mr. West, whatever you may think of me because I got Jade pregnant, I am absolutely not the kind of person who would ever abandon my child that way. I will always be there to care for our baby, and whatever Jade chooses to do in life, I will do anything I can to help her achieve her goals," she said firmly.

A smile spread on Jade's face, and she openly slipped her hand into Tori's, ignoring her father's burning gaze on the contact. For what seemed like the thousandth time since Tori had covered for her with her parents, Jade couldn't help thinking how thankful she was that Tori had offered to replace Beck as her baby's parent. No one had ever made her feel so cared for, not even her parents.

Zachary paused for just a moment at Tori's quick rebuttal of his attack. She hadn't even hesitated before responding. "That's all well and good, but words don't mean anything if you do nothing to back them up," he said scornfully, laying it on thick. "What about marriage? You didn't have any problem taking my daughter to your bed and taking what you wanted from her, but I don't see a ring on her finger." He didn't actually want his daughter getting married just because she was pregnant, but he wanted to see her reaction to the accusation.

A blush flared up in Jade's cheeks, and her eyes flashed dangerously. She couldn't believe that her dad was being such an asshole to Tori, and she was feeling protective of her girlfriend, particularly after their bonding experience in the doctor's office that afternoon and the way that Tori had been so sweet with her when they went shopping. She didn't get the chance to speak, however, before her girlfriend's temper got the best of her.

"How dare you say something like that about your daughter?" Tori practically snarled at the man. "You make her sound like some prostitute off the street," she said with disgust, ignoring the way that Zachary's eyes widened in realization of just what he'd accidentally implied. "There's no ring on her finger because I have far more respect for Jade than to propose to her just because she's pregnant, and I know she has too much respect for herself to accept for that reason. If Jade and I ever do decide to get married, it will be because we love each other and want to spend our lives together, not because of some ridiculous belief that marriage is some _magical_ _solution_ that's going to make all the problems of a teenage pregnancy go away," she finished her heated rant, glaring at her girlfriend's father.

When he saw the fire that flared up in Tori's eyes and the way that she held Jade's hand closer to her in a protective manner, he knew it was time to give up the game. He sighed before a small, wry smile formed on his lips. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't think about what I was implying before the words came out. I'm sorry, baby girl," he said apologetically, looking morosely into his daughter's eyes, which returned his gaze coldly.

"Don't apologize to me," Jade said scornfully. She realized that her father genuinely didn't mean to insult her, but his attack on Tori hadn't been completely intentional and completely uncalled for.

Zachary nodded slowly in understanding before he turned his head to look at his daughter's girlfriend. "I am sorry, Tori. I shouldn't have made any of the accusations against you that I made tonight. I hope you understand that it wasn't because I had anything against you, personally. I just had to be sure that you were serious about taking care of my little girl, and I needed to see your honest reaction to the things that I said tonight," he said, shaking his head. "Now that all's said and done, I want you to know that I'm glad that Jade has you, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you. I suppose what I'm trying to say is…welcome to the family, Tori," he said sincerely, reaching out a hand in her direction.

Tori smiled in relief as she grasped the man's hand for a moment. "Thank you, sir. I know you were just protecting Jade, and I would really like to get to know both you and Jaina better," she said, gently squeezing Jade's hand as she spoke.

"Well, now that all the drama is done for the evening, dig in, everyone!" Jaina said warmly, reaching over to squeeze her husband's arm and sending an encouraging smile to her daughter.

Fortunately, the rest of evening passed peacefully, and Zachary smiled as his daughter walked Tori to the front door once everyone had finished their dessert. Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he raised an eyebrow when he saw his wife moving to peek out the window in the corner of the room – the one that had a perfect view of the front porch. He chuckled quietly as he joined her in discreetly waiting for the young couple to appear.

Jade grinned when she saw the sigh of relief that Tori let out as the front door closed behind them. "Well, you made it," she teased gently. "Thank you for standing up for me the way that you did tonight," she murmured, reaching out to wrap her arms around Tori's neck.

"I meant every word. I will always be here to take care of you and our baby," Tori said sincerely, leaning in to kiss her girl softly. "I can't wait for our date on Friday," she said with a bright smile when they pulled back from the kiss.

Jade grinned. "I don't suppose you want to tell me what we're doing…" she trailed off, smirking when Tori just laughed. "At least tell me how I should dress," she said, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow at her girlfriend.

Tori hummed as she thought for a moment. "That's fair," she agreed. "You'll need to dress nicely for what I've got in mind, but I wouldn't wear any heels," she hinted, looking at her girlfriend innocently when she saw the look of suspicion on her face.

"Alright," Jade relented with a small smile before she took a deep breath and winced slightly. "I think I might have eaten too much," she groaned quietly, leaning forward to rest her forehead on Tori's shoulder.

Tori laughed quietly, reaching out and raising Jade's shirt just slightly so that she could gently rub her girlfriend's stomach. "Does that help?"

Jade sighed deeply at the soothing feel of Tori's hand slowly circling her abdomen. "It helped a lot, actually," she said, pulling back and reaching down to take Tori's hand in her own. "I'll see you at school, tomorrow?"

"Of course. Meet me at my car when you get there. I have a little something for you," she responded with a smile, deliberately ignoring Jade's curious look.

Jake rolled her eyes wryly, knowing Tori wouldn't give away the surprise, regardless of what she might threaten the singer with. "Sure thing, baby," she said, leaning in for a goodnight kiss. She moaned when Tori's tongue slid slowly against her bottom lip, and she grinned when they pulled back. "I don't think I'll get tired of that anytime soon," she mused.

Tori chuckled. "Good night, Jade," she said, kissing her cheek and getting into her car. She waited until Jade went back into the house before she backed out of the driveway, both teens unaware that Jade's parents had watched the entire exchange.

Zachary smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around his wife. Seeing the interaction between Jade and Tori had reminded him of the way he'd rubbed Jaina's belly that way when she'd been pregnant with their little girl. He placed a kiss on his wife's head. _If she cares for Jade the way that I care for Jaina, then I'm glad that she has her. I'm just glad the baby is hers and not that pathetic Canadian's…_

 **To Be Continued.**

 **A/N: So, it looks like Zachary is on board now – one hurdle down for Tori and Jade! But there's still the issue of Andre, and we're still waiting on Beck's reaction to everything once the truth comes out that Jade is pregnant… That should be fun, right?**

 **Anyway, next chapter: Jade and Tori's first date! Any thoughts on what Tori might have planned?**

 **Let me know if you've got any thoughts/ideas for the upcoming chapters! Thanks for reading, girls and guys!**

 **-The Midnight Vale**

 **Post-Script: If you're an Elitoria fan (Elizabeth Gillies/Victoria Justice), you should check out my Tumblr for Elitoria stories – themidnightvale …Nothing posted right this second, but I should have two stories up by tonight (4/19/17)!**


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